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Alphonsos and grapes suffer heavy damage |
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NASHIK: Not just pulses and grains, but also the state's mango and grape harvests were damaged by unseasonal rains earlier this year. Farmers and wholesale traders estimate the supply of Alphonso mangoes, a prime export fruit, to suffer a sharp 40% drop in May , the peak mango season, from the previous year. As for grapes, the country's exports are expected to fall by half from last year.
More than 15,000 boxes of green (raw) Alphonso mangos from the early crop have arrived at the Vashi APMC market from Devgad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. This lot, which has largely escaped rain damage, is being sold for Rs300-1,000 a dozen, depending on quality and size. The prices are comparable to last year's, traders say , but a supply squeeze is expected around May . Last May , the APMC market sold around 1 lakh boxes a day . Traders expect this to come down to around 50,000 boxes this time round.
"We were anticipating a good harvest, but untimely storms played spoilsport. The crop that will ripen in May has been affected badly ," said Sitaram Surve, a mango farmer from Ratnagiri. He said the crops ripening in March and April have largely escaped bad weather.
The story is equally scary for grape farmers. Rain and hailstorms lashed the state's grape basket on three days--February 10 and 28, and March 1--causing heavy damage to the crop.
Grape Exporters' Association of India president Gajanan Khapre expects exports this year to be half the Rs 1,600 crore notched up last year."Some grapes look good in the farm but are rejected for internal damage once they go for packaging. Traders do not accept cracked grapes," said Khapre.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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