Bumper yield leads to dip in price of mangoes

malda: This year, mangoes have left customers smiling and growers frowning in Malda. Record yield of mangoes in Malda has resulted in a crash of rates of the fruit in the district.

The growers and horticulture department are assessing the production of mangoes to cross 3 lakh 70 thousand metric tonnes mark easily and may touch 4 lakh metric tonnes, the rates of the fruit is fetching half the price compared to 2022.

Samanta Layek, deputy director of district horticulture department, summed up stating: “The production is set to cross 3 lakh 70 thousand metric tonnes this year. We are now in talks with some exporters to send Malda mangoes to the USA. The Delhi fest has given a huge response for Malda mangoes for which we may now send more mangoes to Delhi than the predefined amount of 19 mt. Many varieties have come to market and many are yet to come.”

A major part of the popular varieties including Gopalbhog, Khirsapati (Himsagar), Langra, Lakkhanbhog are fetching very low prices compared to the previous years. Under these circumstances the mango producers of the district are now fearing a loss as cost of production cannot be recovered owing to low rates.

The only silver lining for the producers is a strong possibility of the mangoes being exported to the United States of America (USA) this year.

Talks are on for this. Earlier there some more countries were in the list for export but it did not work out.

There have been a number of mango fairs that have to some extent helped the growers.

In the ongoing Mango Mela and Handloom-Handicraft Expo 2023 in Delhi Malda mangoes have received a huge response. 15 metric tons has already been sent there and are on the verge of getting sold out.

The district horticulture department is now considering the hike of the amount of 19 mt set to be sent to Delhi for the unmatched demand this year. The mangoes in Uttar Pradesh are yet to come to the market is thought to be the reason for this demand.

On an average mangoes used to sell in retail for around Rs 40 per kg, wholesale rate. This has gone down to around Rs 20 per kg this year. Ujjal Saha, president of Malda Mango Merchants Association, said: “The drop of rates of the fruit is a matter of concern for us. The production cost has climbed up and if rates remain so low the growers are sure to face a huge loss. On the other hand, export of the mangoes is not at an expected level so mango producers are now in a state of uncertainty over their amount of loss.”