Mango output set to dwindle owing to untimely rains

Untimely rains that dashed hopes of a bumper mango crop in 2015 is likely to act as a culprit this year as mango production is likely to fall by 10-15%. Unseasonable rains that have provided brief relief from the severe heat in several places of Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh may threaten the yield of mango crop.

Parts of the country have been battered by rainfall and hailstorm over last one week that includes key mango growing region in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra. Recent rains coupled with hailstorms which occurred during last few days have affected the flowering and fruit in mango drop due to which mango production may decline second time in a row.

"The heavy rainfall and risk of hailstorms ordinarily comes to an end at the end of February, but there has been some unseasonably bad weather over the last few days," a spokesman for the All Indian Mango Growers’ Association told FreshFruitportal.  

The National Horticulture Board's first advance estimate was for output at 19.52 million tonnes in 2015-16, as compared to 18.52 mt the previous year. It says sowing was 2.2 million hectares up from 2.1 mn last year.

According to media reports, mango exporters have received a significant number of orders from the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), primarily for Alphonso. However, if production gets hampered then it may have a negative impact on export growth.

Last year, unseasonal rain during March-April period resulted in production losses of up to 50% in some states.

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