Less rainfall low production and increased prices of mangoes have turned the mango-buying experience sour say farmers and buyers at the mela
Farmers at the mango mela at the National College grounds are a disappointed lot. They have brought fewer mangoes to the mela, thanks to the lower yield, as a result of poor rainfall.
Manjunath Gowda, a farmer from Tumkur said that the mango sales this year were half of last year and attracted a lesser crowd resulting in him facing a tough year ahead. Madhusudhan, from Kolar agreed with him and said that mango sizes had declined, too. He said that a paucity of rainfall had led to a lower produce. He estimated his losses at 35 per cent.
According to a news report, the yields of mangoes are 30 percent less than usual. The report also stated that Karnataka has 1.49 lakh hectares of land under mango cultivation and the expected yield was 12-15 lakh metric tonnes. But this year only five lakh metric tonnes were produced.
Vivek, a mango seller said “I sold badami mangoes at Rs. 100-180 per kg, now I am selling them at Rs. 200-250 per kg. He also said that he used to get 10 tonnes of mangoes before and now, only one. He continued to talk about how consumers are equally unhappy with overpriced mangoes.
Madhu Shankar, a customer said “I am paying more this year compared to any year before. Also, the quality of mangoes has degraded.”
Hari, a mango lover said that he used to purchase mangoes on a regular basis, however the recent hike in prices has made his purchases less frequent.
Sunil, a farmer from Kolar said, “Due to lower yield, the variety of mangoes have also decreased”. He said that last year, he sold eight varieties of mangoes whereas this year only four varieties of mangoes were sold.
Dr. Mahaboob Pasha, Karnataka State President of Raith Sangha said “If Bangalore does not get rain within one month; the yield will decrease even more For a better quality and yield of mangoes, more rains would help.
