Come June and the mango may just be available for as little as Rs 10-15/kg, thanks to the bumper crop of the fruit this season. Even now, the King of Fruits is available for between Rs 15-25/kg, with most of the mangoes sourced from Andhra Pradesh, India’s largest mango producing state.Apart from the Andhra varieties like Banganapalli, Banesham, Banglora, Totapuri and Safeda, the Alphonso, too, is cheaper this year, available for Rs 200/dozen compared to Rs 400/dozen last year. The South Indian varieties, incidentally, dominate the market only till June 10, around 20 days after the Dasheharis, Langras and Chausas from Uttar Pradesh — the second-largest mango-producing state — come into the market. Pack-up for the Peti The wooden boxes (petis) commonly used for packing mangoes for transportation may soon become a thing of the past. The Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, has developed and designed Corrugated Fibre Board (CFB) boxes in 5 kg and 10 kg capacities as an environment-friendly alternative. While the CFB boxes are already in extensive use in the export sector, they are also making a headway in the domestic market. Talking to The Indian Express, Tejinder Singh Makhan, general secretary of the Fruit Merchants’ Association of Azaadpur Mandi, Delhi said, ‘‘Though the UP crop was infested at the time of flowering, there is still a bumper crop and this may not impact the market over all except to push it down. The Maharashtra crop, which peaks in March-April, was also okay, while the South produced a bumper crop.’’The Azaadpur mandi, which feeds the states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, receives around 400 trucks of the fruit from the South, and a couple of trucks of Alphonso everyday. In contrast, Makhan expects around 800 trucks of the fruit to come in daily from UP from June 10. The April-August mango season in the country peaks in June-July.The glut in the crop can be attributed at least in part to the increase in the area under mango cultivation over the past two years. According to agriculture ministry figures, 1,522.6 thousand hectares was under mango production in 2000-01, in comparison to 1,486.9 thousand hectares in 1999-2000. Production for 2000-01, though, was down to 10,237 thousand MT in comparison to 10,503.5 thousand MT in 1999-2000.This year, ministry sources project an at least 25 per cent rise in production from the last figures available. The export figures, too, have recorded a similar rise. Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA), under the ministry of commerce and industry, Anil Swarup said, ‘‘As per the feedback from exporters, the Europe and Middle-East markets are doing very well. From the price point of view, Europe is better than the Middle-East. Varieties like Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli command the export market and the margins this year are better for the exporters.’’
