This year’s juiciest mango story has to be the one where actor Shabana Azmi, in Rakhshanda Jalil’s translated work of Kaifiyat, written by her father Kaifi Azmi, recalls how her father planted a mango orchard for her, in Mijwan, Uttar Pradesh, simply because she loved the fruit.
While that orchard in Uttar Pradesh may have yielded many a delicious mango this summer, sadly, that is not the case with many mango orchards in the Konkan belt this year. In many mango-growing regions, including Devgad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri, the yield has been less than satisfactory.
Anil Karale, who owns Rajaram Laxman & Co at Crawford Market, Mumbai which is into retailing and export of mangoes to the Middle East, says the supply this year has been uneven because of the climatic conditions. “Before Holi, the temperatures were around 18 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius as a result of which at the flowering stage itself, the mangoes disappeared,” says Karale. The mangoes that are available right now range from Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,500 a dozen and weighs around 200 grams, which is not a bad size. You can call it VFM (value for money), he says.
Arvind Morde of Venubai Vithal Morde, whose shop is also located in Crawford Market, adds, “The fruit that is coming into the market now is smaller in size by almost 10-20 per cent and while there is no difference in the taste, there is a considerable drop in the sales because people are unhappy with the size as they are looking for bigger sized mangoes.”
Anand Desai of Desai Bandhu, who grows and sells mangoes commercially and whose mango orchards in Ratnagiri are amongst the most famous in India, says, “The male flower has exceeded this year and that is why there have been no fruit settings as a result of which there are 40 per cent fewer mangoes this year, as compared to last (year).” Desai Bandhu’s mangoes are selling at the rate of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 8000 per peti (box) which houses around four-five dozen mangoes. “If it is a peti containing four dozen mangoes, the mangoes weigh around 200-300 grams and if it is a peti containing around five dozen mangoes, the mangoes weigh around 250 grams,” he says.
Karale goes on to say, “This year there has been a reduction in our stock by almost 30 per cent as compared to last year, as a result of which we are not able to make any commitments to our overseas client because of the short supply as well as the size of the mangoes....Besides, the freight charges of the airlines go up during the summers, which only further adds to our woes.” Desai adds how, often, “during transit, especially in airplanes, the mangoes, are often prone to ‘heat injury’ because of lack of proper ventilation and that is a big concern as a lot of fruits are destroyed en route to the desired destinations,”. Of course, there are also other prevalent threats that have only fueled the mango crisis further such as Crepes, an insect smaller than an ant, against which no insecticide has proven to be effective as well as a fungus called Black Suttee Mould against which no remedy has bee found and which leaves black, unsightly stains on mangoes, explains Desai.
Dr. B.R. Salvi, head, Deptartment of Horticulture, Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurle, Maharashtra, sums it up thus, “Because of 18 per cent less rainfall at a critical stage combined with severe cold for a very long period, fruit set has been adversely affected, creating stress conditions.”
However, though things may appear bleak for now, there is bound to be some mouth-watering aam ras at the end of this crisis. People such as Karale who have been in the mango business for long, have found “solutions” and claim that they do have a healthy supply of mangoes for this season. They have been able to source mangoes through brokers in huge quantities.
The only drawback is that they won’t come cheap! Morde believes that “after Gudi Padva, sales should pick up briskly as that will also be a time when the prices will drop sharply by at least Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 a dozen.”