Warangal: Mangoes being sold at high prices doesn’t cheer farmers this year 

Warangal: The mangoes of Banganpalli variety were sold for a record price of Rs 80,000 per metric tonne (MT) at the Lakshmipuram fruit market in Warangal on Wednesday. The high prices are being attributed to a very low yield when compared to last year. “While the same variety was sold at a maximum price of […]

Warangal: The mangoes of Banganpalli variety were sold for a record price of Rs 80,000 per metric tonne (MT) at the Lakshmipuram fruit market in Warangal on Wednesday. The high prices are being attributed to a very low yield when compared to last year.

“While the same variety was sold at a maximum price of Rs 40,000 per MT last year, the prices are now hovering between Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000 per MT,” said Warangal Fruit Traders Association General Secretary D Chennamallu Yadav.

However, he said that the farmers were not happy with the high prices at the market as the yield had come down drastically to four to five tonnes from 10 tonnes per 10 acres on an average. “Rains and pests caused heavy damage to the mango crop in the erstwhile Warangal district. Farmers were forced to spray pesticides for five to six times, incurring heavy input cost. Due to this, they are not happy despite the high price for the mangoes. And in some orchards, there is no flowering at all due to rains and pests,” he added.

The market authorities said that 15.3 tonnes of Banganpally mango was traded at the market on Wednesday, while the total arrival of Banganapalli variety mango was 104.9 tonne during the ongoing season. Meanwhile, traders and officials anticipate that the prices would come down only in May end due to more arrivals of the fruit. The most famous varieties arriving at the Warangal fruit market are Banaganapalli (Benishan), Totapuri, Neelam, Cinna Rasalu, Pedda Rasalu and Dasheri, and they are exported to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and other States.

There is a huge demand for the mangoes during Ramzan month and other reasons. Not less than 90 per cent of the farmers in the region cultivate the Benishan variety due to its demand in the local and northern part of the country. The arrival of Banganapally has only started now.

While Mahabubabad tops the erstwhile Warangal district with farmers cultivating mango in nearly 30,000 acres. Warangal district is second in the region with cropping area spread across around 7,000 acres. Hanamkonda district has mango orchards in nearly 2,000 acres. While Mahabubabad produces 40,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) during the normal season, Hanamkonda and Warangal districts together are expected to produce nearly 10,000 MT.