NELLORE: Mango prices have plunged this season, making the fruit cheap for consumers but leaving farmers in distress due to low market rates, unseasonal rains, and crop damage.
Mangoes that sold for up to `150 per kilogram at the start of the season are now available at `100 for three to four kilograms. While families enjoy the abundance, cultivators are unable to recover basic input costs after investing heavily in fertilisers, pesticides, and orchard maintenance.
Unseasonal rains and strong winds caused heavy fruit drop, forcing farmers to sell produce at throwaway prices to middlemen. Mango orchards across Gudur, Podalakur, Vinjamur, Kavali, Sydapuram, Atmakur, and Kaluvayi cover nearly 9,000 hectares in Nellore district, producing varieties such as Banganapalli, Rasalu, Totapuri, and Cheruku Rasalu.
“We spent heavily, but when harvest time came, prices collapsed. Even our investment is not coming back,” said I Siddaiah, a farmer.
The season, which runs from late March to early July, usually supports strong export demand to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the UAE. This year’s disruption has hit local trade hard, with roadside stalls offering mangoes at bargain prices while only carefully graded fruit is shipped abroad.
Farmers argue that early harvesting flooded markets with mixed-quality produce, dragging prices down.
“Everyone is enjoying mangoes this year because prices have become very low,” said trader Sk Akbar, noting demand has surged as rates fell.