Mango traders see better days in May

Decline in quality and quantity may have made the going tough for mango traders, but they still hope that the per tonne Banginipalli (Badam) and Thotapuri (Collector) prices would go up in the month of May.

K Venkateswarlu, special grade secretary, Agricultural Market Committee, told Business Standard that traders lifted about 72,000 tonne of Banginapalli and Thotapuri (Rs 70 crore) varieties of mangoes from the country's biggest mango market yard here in 2005-06. After 2006-07 season took off this month, about 4,800 tonne of mangoes worth Rs 4 crore had so far been transported to Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi.

He said that as mango quality and quantity suffered this year, mango prices were looking down. It was expected that per tonne Banginipalli and Thotapuri (Collector) prices would go up in May.

Two firms "� Vistas and Vijaya Sungold "� that exported 120 tonne of Banginapalli, the king of mangoes, valued at Rs 4.5 crore, to Singapore and Malaysia in 2005-06, have so far airlifted 2.4 tonne of mangoes to other countries this year (2006-07). They get the crop processed at the mango export zone at Gollapudi near here before exporting it.

K Radhakrishna, president, Farmers and Food Commission Merchants' Association, said, "Unusual rains which hit Krishna district in December wiped out the first flowering in mango gardens reared in 65,000 acres. The second flowering was very good and farmers, traders and exporters pinned great hopes on this crop before 70 per cent of it was afflicted with three rampant fungi, including blackspot (mungi). The fruit easily decays and discolours, losing its quality and turning yellowish. However, in hilly and red soil areas, farmers are harvesting a very profitable mango crop."

The harvest, expected to arrive at the market yard, was estimated at 50,000 tonne. "The north Indian traders took only 'A' grade mangoes, leaving fungi-hit crop at the yard itself. There are no buyers for this fruit. Six out of seven tonne fruit is rejected and is piling up into heaps at the yard," he said.

While a tonne of Banginapalli fetched Rs 12,000 in 2005-06, the same fruit of top quality is earning Rs 8,000 per tonne this season, putting farmers and traders at a loss. North Indian traders, who purchased 2,000 tonne of Thotapuri (mango for pickles) at Rs 12,000-25,000 per tonne in January and February, are now paying Rs 5,000 per tonne for the same variety.

He added that most of the farmers came out safely this year as they leased their gardens at Rs 10,000-8,000 per acre. Moreover, the government's new rule that trucks should carry only 9,500 kg had upset mango transport operations. In the past, truckers loaded around10,000 tonne to Delhi at the rate of Rs 28,000 per truck. Now they charge Rs 32,000 per 9,500 tonne load.