ONGOLE: Farmers in Prakasam district are a happy lot as they raked in Rs 5.5 crore in a span of 10 days (August 22-29) after exporting around 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes of Ulavapadu mangoes to Kerala. Demand for the particular variety of mangoes, known as Punasa and grown in the Ulavapadu region, spikes in Kerala around the time of Onam.
As part of the three-day official festival of the State, Keralites prepare a special dish (similar to Ugadi Pacchadi in Andhra Pradesh) which requires Punasa mangoes as a key ingredient. While the mango season begins in March and continues till June, farmers who cultivate Punasa variety of the fruit set the final crop aside so they can export it to Kerala for their harvest festival.
Harvesting of these mangoes continues till November and the yield is exported to Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other States.“Punasa mangoes were being sold at Rs 40-Rs 45 per kg in the beginning and the price rose to Rs 65-Rs 70 per kg. On an average, Ulavapadu farmers supplied nearly 100 to 150 tonnes of mangoes to Kerala for 10 days. As there is a tough competition from the mango markets in Ravulapalem, Kadapa and Nellore, we managed to get considerable number of orders for this year’s Onam celebrations,” Sayed Fazal, a mango exporter from Ulavapadu told TNIE.