Telangana mango farmers face mid-season crisis as prices crash amid oversupply, Chittoor ban
The surplus, compounded by limited processing infrastructure and restricted market access, has pushed farmers into distress, threatening their livelihoods and casting a shadow over the State’s mango industry
Hyderabad: Telangana’s mango farmers are grappling with a mid-season crisis as a bumper harvest, unseasonal weather and Andhra Pradesh’s ban on mango imports into Chittoor district have led to a steep fall in prices. With an estimated 12 lakh tonnes of mangoes harvested across 3.06 lakh acres, orchards across the State are overflowing with varieties such as Banganapalli, Badami and Totapuri.
The surplus, compounded by limited processing infrastructure and restricted market access, has pushed farmers into distress, threatening their livelihoods and casting a shadow over the State’s mango industry.
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The situation worsened after Andhra Pradesh imposed restrictions on mango imports from other States into Chittoor, India’s mango processing hub, to protect its own farmers, who are also facing an oversupply crisis. Chittoor’s pulp industries, which process millions of tonnes annually, have been a vital destination for Telangana’s Totapuri mangoes, typically fetching Rs 4 to Rs 6 per kg.
Wholesale prices in Telangana reflect the deepening crisis. As of June 27, mandi rates at the Gaddiannaram fruit market in Hyderabad range from Rs 550 to Rs. 3,300 per quintal (Rs 5.5 to Rs 33 per kg), with an average of Rs 1,825 per quintal (Rs 18.25 per kg). In contrast, the average rate on April 28 was significantly higher at Rs 4,390 per quintal (Rs 43.90 per kg), ranging between Rs 2,350 and Rs 7,000 per quintal. Totapuri, in particular, has seen a steep drop, with prices falling as low as Rs 8 per kg in some markets due to high volume and limited processing demand.
Retail prices, too, highlight the distress. In April, mangoes retailed at around Rs 150 per kg for standard varieties and up to Rs 250 for premium ones, driven by early-season demand and limited supply. Now, prices have dropped sharply to about Rs 33.62 per kg at Gaddiannaram, largely due to the glut and declining consumer interest in weather-damaged fruit.
Erratic weather patterns disrupted flowering and led to premature ripening, resulting in blackened and lower quality fruits that fail to fetch good prices. “My Badami mangoes are selling at Rs 30-40 per kg, barely enough to pay workers,” says K Venkateswar Rao, a farmer from Sathupalli in Khammam district.
The lack of adequate processing infrastructure in Telangana is compounding the crisis. Though the State is working on facilities like a Rs 8.43 crore mango processing unit in Jagtial and food parks in locations such as Toopran, equipped with cold storage and irradiation plants, these are insufficient to handle the current volume or meet export norms for markets such as the US, Europe and Japan.
The absence of local irradiation and treatment facilities compels farmers to depend on distant centres in Karnataka, inflating logistics costs and hurting their competitive edge. Meanwhile, export demand, already impacted by global disruptions like the Ukraine conflict, remains weak, leaving pulp industries with excess stock and little motivation to offer fair procurement prices.
