JEYPORE: People of Koraput district may not enjoy the sweetness of mangoes this year due to a drastic fall in the production. If yield has dropped by over 50 per cent, bad weather conditions during flowering and fruit setting stages are said to have caused decline in production.
Mango crop coverage spreading across 15,000 acre in the district, including Kundra, Boipariguda, Borigumma, Lamataput, Narayanpatana, Dasmantpur, Laxmipur, Nandapur and Koraput have been severely affected.
Local farmers here grow both local and export varieties. While normal production yields three to four tonne per acre, this year’s production has reduced to just one to two tonne, causing significant losses to the local farmers.
Inclement weather condition marked by a lack of rainfall during March and April further exacerbated the situation affecting the crops badly, sources said.
“We have suffered a lot due to low productivity this year, after a decade. There will be only one to two tonne mango production per acre which may not meet our cost of inputs,” rued Narendra Pradhan, a mango grower of Kundra block .
Meanwhile, market prices for mangoes have skyrocketed, with common varieties like Dasseri and Amrapali reaching up to Rs 100 per kg, compared to last year’s price of Rs 40 per kg.
Borigumma mango market which is major centre of Koraput district was also affected due to low productivity. As low supply from local mango growers is recorded, we are looking to import from neighbouring states to meet the demands,” said Jagannath Nayak, a trader of Borigumma market.
To meet the local demand, traders are now importing mangoes from Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
Koraput’s deputy director of Horticulture, Sudam Charan Biswal, acknowledged the fall in mango production, citing bad weather conditions during critical growth stages. “Mango has an alternative bearing habit, and this year’s weather was not conducive during flowering and fruit setting stages,” he said.