Mango production falls, prices rise

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, May 2, 2015 DHNS: The king of fruits is hitting the markets with a royal pricing. Experts attribute the high prices to fall in production and predict that it may hamper export of mangoes from the State.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, K M Parashivamurthy, Additional Director of Horticulture (Fruits and Floriculture), said: “The State annually produces seven lakh tonnes of mangoes, but there is a 30-40 per cent fall in production this year. This will not only affect the retail price, but also reduce the quantity of exports from the State.”

He said though there was variety, the quality and quantity of the fruit had come down and it was also expensive. Looking at the present scenario, only around 600 tonnes can be exported, he said.

At present, one kilogram of Badami mangoes is sold at Rs 150. There are around 1.5 lakh mango farmers in Karnataka. The maximum comes from Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Doddaballapur and Ramanagara. In Karnataka, around seven lakh hectares are under mango cultivation. In Kolar and Chikkaballapur, 60 hectares are under mango cultivation. All the six taluks in Kolar produce mango. In Ramangara, around 7,000 hectares are under cultivation.

US team visit

A team from the United States will arrive in Karnataka next week to visit the radiation unit in Malur. The team is also keen on visiting mango plantations. This is the first time a US team is coming here on such as a visit. This is important in the wake of the ban imposed by the United Nations on mangoes last year because of infected and poor quality fruits.

The team has listed some parameters such as installations, processing methods, radiating elements, atomic language used by machine, protection to unit and fruits, packaging and so on. This is important for us as Karnataka will be the third state in the country to have a radiation unit for exports after Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Brand name for the State is important and measures are being taken to ensure that there is no shortage of fruits for export, which could affect retail price to some extent, added Parashivamurthy.