TIRUPATI: As the season of mangos comes to an end, the prices of Totapuri varieties have risen by 50 per cent this week. Its late arrival and likely exit from markets after July due to low yield this season has driven the prices up, say the farmers.
Totapuri mangoes are medium to large-sized and have tangy flavour. They are grown mostly in the tail-end parts of Andhra Pradesh like Chittoor district, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
This variety is grown by a majority of farmers in the district since some 50 to 60 pulp companies take large quantities of these.
However, changes in the flowering cycle and fruiting pattern, caused by unseasonal rain and climate change, have impacted agricultural productivity in the district this season. The yield has come down by more than half, this season.
Muni Ratnam, mango grower from Durgasamudram, Tirupati rural, said, “Apart from the delayed flowering, mango orchards have been hit by pests and fruit flies. When we recovered from this, there were a few spells of rain with strong winds that destroyed a part of the crop.”
However, farmers and traders are happy as they are finally getting a good price at the season’s end. “As mango yield hit an all-time low in this season, there is an increase in the demand for raw mango from the juice companies. The Totapuri variety is widely used juice extraction,” said Nellore Harish, a seller in Bangarupalem market.
The demand for Totapuri mangoes rose in the last few days as traders from Tumkur, as also Mysore in Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh lined up for auctions at HOPCOMS and mandis in the district.
As a result, Totapuri, sold for Rs 25,000-Rs 28,000 per tonne till the second week of June, is currently being sold at Rs 43,000- Rs 45,000 in the mandis.
