Mumbai: Like all other businesses, mango traders are also poised for a big setback as the season hits the peak in the country. The economic jolt given by the pandemic has not spared the king of fruits either.
As the crucial time for the mango season is passing, the amount of loss to traders and exporters is also increasing greatly. The situation is so grim that farmers are not plucking their mangoes from trees despite mangoes being ripe.
The uncertainty over exports will have a long-lasting effect on the Rs 2000-crore industry, fears experts, as 40 per cent of total production of mangoes in the country is exported. If mangoes are nor exported then farmers will suffer huge losses as USA and the European countries have sealed their borders.
"The government should make special arrangements for exporting mangoes, if mangoes are not exported in time then at least half of the crop will go to waste," said Sanjay Narayan Pansare, who is the director of APMC (fruit) division and also a farmer himself. "The situation in domestic markets doesn't seem to be different.
A box of Alphonso mangoes which would otherwise sell for Rs 5000, is being sold in the range of Rs 2000-2500, yet there are very less buyers due to the unprecedented situation. Under current circumstances, people are more interested in buying and stocking essential items like grains and vegetables," he added.
The president of Konkan Mango Orchard Owners and Sellers Cooperative Association, Vivek Bhide said: "By the start of April, we usually send around 2 lakh boxes of mangoes to Mumbai and abroad but this year we could only manage to send 3000 to 4000 boxes.
Transportation and police are the biggest hurdles,” he said. Exporters are now concentrating in domestic markets but here too they seem to hit the dead end due to shortage of packaging staff and drivers.
The Konkan Collector Shivajirao Daund has recently carried a meeting of JNPT officials, Police, APMC and MIDC officials for proper co-ordination and availability of all equipment for packaging of mangoes and they have also initiated a helpline for APMC traders for smooth transportation.
Fortunately, the unseasonal rains in October seem to have given traders a breathing period as the mangoes riiped around 20 days late. But that will not come to the traders’ aid as lockdown period in the state has been extended to April 30 leading to domestic problems for transportation.
