Office Address
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
Phone Number
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
Email Address
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
The crisis in the Middle East is impacting the mango
business. Exporting the fruit has become more challenging as slots are
difficult to come by and freight rates are fluctuating wildly.
According to farmers and exporters, air freight was
around Rs 250 a kg last year. It is
between Rs 400 and Rs 550 this year.
This is a huge blow to farmers — exporters who don’t get slots are returning the mango consignments to
them. Farmers who have exclusively grown export-quality mangoes are the
hardest hit since the input costs are high and they incur losses even if the
produce is sold in the local market.
“Export-quality mangoes have to be grown
with utmost care. Even a small mark on the fruit results in rejection. To
adhere to these standards, we have to bag the fruits and control infections.
From harvesting to handling, it is a labour-intensive process,” said Mr.
K Srinivas Gowda, President of the Chikkaballapur Mango Growers Association.
If the consignment is returned, the farmers have no
option but to sell it in the local market, where prices are low.
Forget profits, we in fact suffer losses,” said Mansoor H, who runs 10 mango farms
in Malur.
While exports of many products are affected, mango
farmers say they are the worst hit since mangoes have a limited shelf life, and
exporters have a window of just eight to 10 weeks. Amid the Middle East crisis,
disruptions in sea trade have prompted exporters to take to air routes, thereby
escalating costs.
Representatives from the Karnataka unit of
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
told DH they had received numerous complaints about the increase in
freight rates and their volatile nature.
“We have communicated the same to the head office and
we have been told that the authority will soon speak with the Ministry of Civil
Aviation on this matter,” an official said. However, this might not bring down the prices of mangoes at the local
market drastically since the yield this year is low
