In this season of 2025, mango prices in Karnataka have witnessed an alarming decline. The Totapuri variety of mango has been the most notable for the price decline. This has raised an alarm and both the Central and Karnataka Government are taking necessary actions.
Karnataka is a significant producer of mangoes. The state has approximately 1.39 lakh hectares of area under mango cultivation, yielding an average of 11 lakh tonnes annually, when the season runs normally. This is a vital source of income for 2.8 lakh mango farmers. Major mango growing districts in Karnataka are Kolar, Ramanagara and Tumkur.
This year in 2025, Karnataka has seen unprecedented challenges with the mangoes with a sharp decline in the market prices. This price crash has been particularly for the Totapuri variety which is cultivated for pulp extraction and processing rather than direct fruit consumption.
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Supply Side Issue: Mangoes have a concentrated harvest period which leads to oversupply in the market within a short duration span. This year the crash is severe particularly for the Totapuri variety.
There have been some demand size challenges as well which have led to the price crash.
Demand Side Challenges: Andhra Pradesh has imposed an Import ban on the mangoes which has blocked access to a major mango processing hub and Totapuri mango is specifically used for processing. This has led to excess mangoes and hence oversupply in the Karnataka region. The volatile war like situations in the middle east has also interrupted the key export market. There are insufficient local capacity to absorb and process the mango produce.
This year Karnataka has seen a late harvest which has coincided with the produce coming in from North Indian states, saturating the domestic market.
All of these factors have collectively overwhelmed the market's capacity to absorb this year's mango produce leading to the price crash. The difference is stark and alarming. The current market price for Totapuri mangoes is approximately 4000 INR per tonne, which is drastically below the average production cost of 12,000 INR per tonne. This situation has created an urgent need for immediate financial relief as well as a strategic policy intervention of the long term.
Karnataka’s internal infrastructure and capacity to process mangoes is underdeveloped and lacks required investments in the area. There is a stark contrast with the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, which has comprehensive facilities and streamlined clearances by the government.
A major catalyst for the price crash has been a ban imposed by Andhra Pradesh to import mangoes from outside the state. The Chittoor district in Andhra is a hub for totapuri mango pulp extraction and export. Karnataka farmers have enjoyed beneficial ties with these processing units which this year have turned out to be not so favourable due to the ban.
In order to protect the local farmers of Andhra Pradesh, On 7th June 2025, the Chittoor district administration issued an order restricting the entry of Totapuri mangoes from neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
AP has experienced a bumper crop of Totapuri mangoes which has led to a sharp price crash within its own state. It’s decision to ban import of mangoes from other states have severely impacted the mango farmers of Karnataka. The supply chain has broken and hundreds of tonnes of Totapuri mangoes are left stranded at the border, facing spoilage and post harvest losses.
This unilateral decision by the AP government without consulting the governments of other states or even the central government has severely affected the inter-state movement of agricultural commodities, agricultural agreements and retaliatory sentiments amongst the states.
Beyond the challenges faced in the domestic market, global export markets have also been severely impacted. The on-going geopolitical conflict in the middle east have increased the cost of transporting mango pulps to European and other international markets due to longer flight routes.
Also, the inflationary factors in the middle east countries due to the war have led to a decrease in purchasing power and hence reduction in demand of these products. The geo-political issues have diminished the absorption capacity of mango pulp in export markets.
Union Minister for Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare, and Rural Development, Mr. Shivraj Chouhan and Karnataka Agriculture Minister Shri N. Chaluvaraya Swamy have decided to provided a significant relief to the Karnataka farmers. The Central and the state government will jointly bear the cost of price difference and pay the same to the farmers. This will cover 2.5 lakh tonnes of mangoes which represents 25% of the state’s estimated production this year.
मखाना, जिसे फॉक्स नट के नाम से भी जाना जाता है, इस बात का एक उत्कृष्ट उदाहरण है कि किस प्रकार एक स्वदेशी भारतीय कृषि उत्पाद को स्वास्थ्यवर्धक सुपरफूड के रूप में सफलतापूर्वक प्रस्तुत किया जा सकता है तथा वैश्विक उपभोक्ताओं की आवश्यकताओं को पूरा करने के लिए विपणन किया जा सकता है।
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