Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 28 : Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) State Official Spokesperson Bhumana Karunakar Reddy on Sunday demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government ensure a minimum price of Rs 15 per kg for Totapuri mangoes to protect farmers from heavy losses.
He warned that the party would launch an agitation in support of mango farmers if the government failed to respond. He also released a video statement to the media from his residence in Tirupati.
He said the government's decision to provide Rs 4 per kg under the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) was not enough. Juice factories are not even purchasing mangoes at Rs 6 per kg, leaving farmers with less than Rs 10 per kg even after the subsidy.
He said thousands of farmers were suffering as nearly two lakh tonnes of mangoes had already gone to waste due to the lack of proper market support.
Bhumana said farmers have been waiting outside juice factories for several days with tractor and lorry loads, but procurement has not improved. He urged the government to stop the exploitation by factories and ensure that all pending orders are purchased immediately.
He also asked the Andhra Pradesh government to follow the Karnataka model, where the Centre approved procurement of Totapuri mangoes at Rs 17.50 per kg. He said if the government continued to ignore the issue, YSRCP would intensify its fight in support of mango farmers.
In a similar case, mango farmers in the Melur Taluk of Madurai district are facing severe financial distress as the farm-gate price for the 'Kili Mooku' (Totapuri) variety has crashed to a record low of Rs 3 per kilogram, forcing many to leave their harvest to rot on trees or cut down plantations to avoid further losses.
The crisis has hit farmers across more than a thousand acres of farmland in the region, where production costs and labour charges have now far exceeded the market value of the fruit. While farmers receive a mere Rs 3 per kg, the same produce is being sold in retail markets for over Rs 40 per kg, highlighting a massive price disparity.
Speaking to ANI, Jeeva, a local farmer, detailed the unsustainable nature of the current market conditions. "Unfortunately, over the past two years, mango prices have witnessed a severe and continuous decline. The farm-gate price has fallen from around Rs 5 per kilogram to Rs 4, and now to as low as Rs 3 per kilogram. At the same time, mango-based products such as juices and beverages are being sold in the market at much higher prices," he said.
Faced with mounting debts, many farmers in the Kottampatti Union have reportedly started cutting down their mango trees. Farmers' associations are now urging the Tamil Nadu government to intervene by establishing a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the crop.
"We strongly urge the Tamil Nadu Government to determine a fair support price based on market realities and production costs. States such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have already taken steps in this direction. Last year, support prices of around Rs 8 per kilogram were provided in certain regions. Similar measures should be introduced in Tamil Nadu. We believe that a minimum support price of at least Rs 20 per kilogram should be considered to make mango cultivation economically viable. This demand has been continuously raised by farmers and farmers' organisations for the past two years, but unfortunately, it has not received adequate attention," Jeeva said.
The farmers have also requested the state government to coordinate with fruit pulp industries and juice manufacturers to ensure fair procurement. While the crisis is currently centred in Madurai, farmers warned that similar conditions are prevailing in other major mango-producing belts like Krishnagiri, Salem, Dharmapuri, and Dindigul, threatening the livelihoods of thousands across the state.