Indian mango exports to the U.S. drop from key state
Indian mango exports to the U.S. from the key growing state of Maharashtra are expected to show a 17% year-on-year decrease, website Thehindubusinessline.com reported.
This year's fruit production is estimated to be 30% less than the state's annual average yield due to a wet November and December, followed by below normal temperatures in the subsequent months in the mango belt.
Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB)Â deputy general Manager Prakash Ashtekar, said 28MT of Hapoos and Kesar mangoes had been exported so far to the U.S.
"Last year, we exported 84MT of the fruit. This year, shipments will continue till June 30, and we expect exports to touch 70MT,"  he was quoted as saying.
Farmers from the Konkan division also attribute the drop in production to an insect they have been unsuccessful in controlling.
Sindhudurg district farmer Dilip Damre, said this has been a problem for growers for some time.
"For the last three years we have seen large-scale attack from Thrips, a pest that drinks up the nutritional sap, leading to destruction of fruit as well as the terminal bud, and we have not been able to control this," he was quoted as saying.
Related stories: India: hailstorm batters mangoes in Karnatka
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