COVIDED! Tears For Mango Growers, Alphonso Hardest Hit By Weather, Low Online Sales

If there is one consolation to the demoralising heat of the Indian summer, it바카라�s the sight of the pyramids of mangoes on carts and fruit stalls바카라�an invitation to a luscious, fleshly sensual experience. Then there are the many varieties, the texture of each exploding with its distinctive sensory signal on the palate. It바카라�s approaching midway of the Indian mango season, but for growers of premium and export-oriented varieties such as Alphonso, Safeda, and Banganappalli, among others, there is little joy. Yields were below expectation to start with, a rise in costs dampened moods, and the blight of COVID-19 delivered the coup de grace바카라�distribution, important for a perishable commodity, became tedious. While farmers바카라� incomes plummeted, consumers end up paying higher-than-usual prices.

바카라�The late monsoon resulted in lesser yield, which was 50-70 per cent lower for many of us,바카라� says Prasad Subhash Jadav, a grower. He adds, 바카라�Due to the lockdown, we did not get good prices for the early-harvested crop.바카라� In Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), which grows the famed Alphonso, orchard owners had to bank on online sales to individuals rather than bulk buyers. Market realities played a ruthless hand: it was difficult to get better prices as local traders knew export prospects were not bright.

S. Insram Ali, president, Mango Growers Association of India, says that sales of Safeda and Banganappli from Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, and Karnataka were affected by the lockdown. 바카라�Hardly 15-20 per cent of the produce was sold,바카라� he rues. Ali is a farmer from Maliahbad, the mango heartland in Uttar Pradesh. He fears that recent hailstorm and caterpillar infestation will impact the output in his area.

Not just the king of fruits, the lockdown has impacted other horticulture crops such as banana, watermelon, pineapple, pomegranate, mosumbi and others, says national horticulture commissioner Srinivasa Murthy. 바카라�A large portion of these fruits are sold in the open market by small traders, either as fresh fruits or cut fruits and juices. Due to the lockdown, these activities have halted, hitting sales,바카라� he explains. A stop in bulk buying by fruit and food processing units that are shut has been another blow. Sale of exotic fruits like dragon fruit and kiwi were also hit by the shutdown of the hospitality sector. Recently, a few dozen traders came together on social media to share and seek solutions to their problems.

Murthy assures that the Centre and state governments are trying to ease transportation and supply-related issues, especially since most fruits are perishable. The authorities have also eased procedures to allow exports from Mumbai port. The delectation of a freshly cut mango for dessert, it seems, shall not be denied to the world.

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COVIDED! Tears For Mango Growers, Alphonso Hardest Hit By Weather, Low Online Sales

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