The production of mangoes in India has not seen an increase since the start of March, says Manoj Barai, director for Indian fresh produce exporter M.K. Exports: “Despite our earlier prediction that the production of mangoes was set to increase, the truth is that it hasn’t happened yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the near future, but as of now, there’s no notable increase in the harvest of our mangoes. We could’ve made good use of more production, as we’re currently seeing that the demand for mangoes from Europe, the UK, and the USA is very high. In terms of logistics, the shipments via air and the freight rates are unstable this season, as there are uncertainties in the airline industry, with a war currently going on in our country.”
The weather has had an impact on the cultivation of mangoes in several areas, Barai explains, including the belt where Kesar and Alphonso mangoes are grown. “The fluctuating weather and unseasonal rains will have an impact on the production of Northern states’ mangoes, especially in the regions of Chausa, Dasheri, and Langar. However, for the past five days, we’ve also seen rains in Maharashtra and the Gujarat belt, which is the Kesar and Alphonso mango belt. These mangoes are the varieties that are exported the most, so there could be an impact there as well.”
The good news is that demand from New Zealand and Singapore is booming: “When we spoke last, I spoke on the possibility of exporting the mangoes to Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. We’ve seen very high demand in both New Zealand and Singapore, as we’re already doing 3PMC per week to both territories. We simply hope that the remainder of the season will be as stable as possible,” Barai concludes.
