Karnataka Totapuri mango farmers hit hard as prices crash to ₹3 per kg
Thousands of farmers growing Totapuri mangoes in Karnataka are facing a severe price crash, with rates falling from ₹4.37 per kg to as low as ₹3 per kg at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis. The distress has led farmers to line up their tractors with harvested yield, hoping for government intervention under the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme.
Ramesh Babu, a farmer from Srinivasapura in Kolar district, said he grew Totapuri mangoes on nearly two acres and harvested eight tonnes. He joined the queue of farmers waiting to register for support price, but by the time his turn came, the prescribed procurement quantity had been exhausted.
“The Horticulture Department officials gave us tokens and asked us to wait until the Union government expands the procurement limit. But mangoes are perishable. For now, I have spread them in a large room at home. If the government does not act, I will sell at whatever price I get in the mandi,” he said.
Neelatur Chinnappa Reddy, president of the Mango Growers’ Welfare Association, Kolar, highlighted the structural problem faced by mango farmers. “Unlike other crops that can be rotated, mango trees cannot be removed once planted. There is no alternative crop if a farmer has acres of mango trees,” he said.
Last week, the Cooperation Department Secretary wrote to the Union Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, requesting an increase in the procurement quantity of Totapuri mangoes from 1.30 lakh tonnes to 5.20 lakh tonnes under the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme. As of now, there has been no response.
Currently, more than 12,000 farmers have registered for support price. The Horticulture Department estimates another 4,000 farmers may register if the scheme is expanded.
Officials attribute the price crash to oversupply and weak demand. T.S. Ravi Kumar, secretary of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Kolar, said, “In 2024, Totapuri mangoes were priced at ₹20 per kg. This year, they have fallen to ₹3–₹4 per kg. A significant portion of the mangoes goes to factories for pulp used in juice manufacturing.”
He added that the number of mango processing units in Kolar district has dropped from four to three, with one unit closed due to losses. Factory owners report that 30% of the pulp processed last year from Totapuri remains unsold.
The government provides a support price of ₹437 per quintal for mangoes up to 200 quintals, limited to five acres per farmer. But the low demand for processed mango juice has compounded the problem. K. Surya Chandra Rao, owner of a pulp processing unit, said that in 2022 and 2023, Totapuri mangoes fetched ₹50–₹70 per kg. “Sales of mango juice have reduced compared to other fruit-flavoured drinks, and the price of mango juice bottles has not increased in recent years,” he said.
In response, the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Limited is in talks with the state government to establish a government-run pulp processing unit. A senior official said, “If everything goes according to plan, a government pulp processing unit will be announced and established soon.”
