Rains hit 40% of state's Alphonso mango crop, production takes a hit

 There is likely to be a shortage of the most preferred mango variety Alphonso this season.

Kadregowda, managing director, Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd  (KSMDMCL), during a media interaction on Tuesday said the sudden rainfall in February and March has destroyed the Alphonso crop in parts of north Karnataka like Belagavi and in Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Ramanagaram. This will not only effect the domestic market, but exports also.

However, the Banganapalle and Mallika crops are picking up and this could substitute Alphonso exports. However, Alphonso is the first choice in the export market, especially in the European and Gulf countries. “Around 30 to 40% of the Alphonso crop has been damaged. Of the two lakh hectares under mango cultivation in Karnataka, around 60,000 ha is under Alphonso production. Of this, around 10,000 ha was affected by the cyclonic rainfall. We have lost around two to three lakh metric tonnes of Alphonso crop this year,” he said.

Last year, 6,750 metric tonnes of mango was exported from Karnataka and the farmers earned Rs 500 crore. This year, KSMDMCL is expecting export orders of around 10,000 metric tonnes. “We have received advance export orders of 2,000 metric tonnes from European countries. The order has been placed with Innova Agri-Bio Park in Malur. Export orders of 300 metric tonnes to USA have also been placed. Talks are on with buyers from South Korea, Brazil, China and Singapore,” said L Gopalkrishna, KSMDMCL chairman.

Gopalkrishna added that the state can produce around 12 to 14 lakh metric tonnes of mango, but last year, the yield was around 10 lakh metric tonnes. This year also, the corporation is expecting the same. There are around 150 registered exporters in India, of whom 30 are from Karnataka. Karnataka has the highest number of registered mango growers. In India, there are a total of 16,000 registered mango growers, of whom 9,900 are from Karnataka, followed by 4,500 in Maharashtra, he added.

To help consumers and farmers, for the first time, KSMDMCL will host a month-long mango mela from May 1 at around 40 different locations in the city, besides Lal Bagh. “We are planning to have it at different locations to help farmers coming from distant places and since the city’s customers are spread out. Online sale of mangoes will start from April to June. Dedicated mobile mango markets (vans selling mangoes) and mango picking tourism will be held this year too,” Gopalkrishna said.

Locations

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and KSMDMCL have shortlisted a few places like Ganganagar, Sahakar Nagar, Yelahanka, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, Indiranagar, BTM Layout, Rajajinagar, Isro Layout, Kumaraswamy Layout, Vasanthnagar, Kengeri, Basaveshwaranagar, Basavanagudi, Attiguppe, Sheshadripuram, Koramangala, Domlur, KR Puram, Jeevan Bimanagar, Puttenahalli, Adugodi, Malleswaram and Varthur.

The mela will also be held at Majestic, Shanthinagar, Binny Mill, Koramangala, Mysuru Road satellite bus stand and Kengeri bus stands. Stalls will also be set up at Vidhana Soudha, MG Road, Indiranagar, Swami Vivekananda Road, Byappanahalli and Mysuru Road Metro stations. A mango mela sales counter will also be set up at Infosys campus.