Even as the famed Alphonso mango is just beginning to make an appearance in the wholesale markets of Pune and Vashi, producers from the Konkan region of Maharashtra are ruing not only the drop in the yield, but also the lower price the fruit is fetching in comparison to last year.
“It is still the beginning of the season, but based on the flowering, we are expecting production to be around 30 per cent of the average potential,” says Vidyadhar Joshi, a producer from Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district, one of two major Alphonso producing districts of Konkan.
With around 35,000-40,000 hectares under mango cultivation, eight talukas of Singhudurg have a potential yield of nearly one lakh tonnes, but are likely to yield a mere 25,000-30,000 tonnes this year, he fears.
A similar situation prevails in Ratnagiri, a district that has nearly 65,000 hectares under cultivation, and has the potential to produce between 1.25 lakh tonnes and 1.5 lakh tonnes of the fruit. According to Dr Vivek Bhide, the crop will be around 40-50 per cent of the average.
While in comparison to the 2012 season this year’s yield is better, the lower prices are another matter of grave concern. “For some reason, this year round, there is lower offtake, and prices are not so good, even though the quality is better,” Bhushan Nabar, a Vengurla-based mango cultivator says.
The untoward reliance on the middleman is perhaps what has prompted the Devgad Mango Producers’ Co-operative Society – a 25-year-old organisation with over 700 members - to experiment with taking the fruit from the farm directly to customers’ homes, and launch an online ordering portal.
“The Society conducted a pilot for the last two year, and is now launching it,” Chairman Advocate Ajit Gogate, explains, adding that the initiative would not only benefit farmers, but also customers who would be certain to get authentic produce.