CHITTOOR — Mango growers across the Rayalaseema region are facing severe financial distress as the peak harvesting season accelerates. A combination of erratic pre-monsoon weather and low procurement prices offered by fruit processing industries has sparked fears of a catastrophic financial fallout.
Farmers across the key cultivation belts of Chittoor, Tirupati, and Annamayya districts report that recent hailstorms and strong gales have caused extensive fruit drop, severely damaging the dominant Totapuri variety.
The crisis is compounded by a sharp decline in market rates. While tabletop varieties like Benisha opened the season with healthy returns, the commercial Totapuri variety which feeds the massive pulp manufacturing ecosystem in Southern Andhra Pradesh is facing a price collapse.
Current market transactions show Totapuri trading between ₹12,000 and ₹14,000 per tonne. This represents a significant plunge from early-season expectations and barely covers the soaring costs of inputs, pesticides, labor, and transport.