Surat/Rajkot: Rising fuel prices and a diesel shortage at the peak of the mango season have pushed growers in South Gujarat and the Gir region of Saurashtra into losses, with traders slashing purchase rates even as retail prices stay high, leaving farmers with little bargaining power.In Valsad, the state’s largest mango-producing district, many growers have stopped taking their produce to bulk markets, saying realized prices barely cover harvesting and transport costs. Growers say that despite lower output this season, rates have failed to increase because export demand remains weak due to the geopolitical situation. Typically, mango prices rise each year in line with demand, but this season they have stayed at last year’s levels.The fuel shortage has also disrupted movement to markets within the country, traders say, forcing them to scale back purchases and pushing farmgate prices down. While farmers were getting Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per 20kg of Kesar mangoes last week, rates in bulk markets have now fallen to Rs 600 to Rs 800.“I was offered just Rs 600 per 20kg of Kesar mangoes when I took my produce to the market in Valsad last week. Usually, the rate is around Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500,” said Mayur Patel, a farmer from Navsari. “I paid Rs 500 per day to each of six pluckers, besides Rs 1,500 as pickup truck freight to transport 800kg to the market. At these prices, I do not recover the year-long orchard maintenance costs,” he said.Another farmer, Hitesh Patel of Magod village in Valsad, said he had stopped going to the bulk market for the last 10 days. “Traders are not buying. They are offering prices so low that we cannot even cover labour costs, so we are selling mangoes from our farm to whichever buyer turns up,” he told TOI.According to farmers, diesel prices have raised transport costs by 10% to 15% over the past few days. More worrying, they say, is the shortage of fuel during the crucial harvesting and supply window.Tushar Dhameliya, who heads a farmer-producer organisation representing over 200 mango growers in Gir, said the crisis is hurting growers and consumers.“It is the peak season and mango prices at the farm level have fallen sharply. Yet consumers in cities like Ahmedabad are not getting the benefit because higher diesel prices have pushed up transport costs,” Dhameliya said.A 10kg box of Kesar mangoes currently retails for Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400, while farmers are receiving about Rs 800 per box.Dhameliya said shipments to metro cities such as Mumbai and more distant markets remain limited owing to high diesel prices and fuel shortages, prompting traders to offer lower rates to farmers, citing higher logistics costs and operational hurdles.
