VIJAYAWADA: This is that time of the year when pickle production in manufacturing units and at homes is at its peak. However, the same is not the case this time around, thanks to a sluggish mango-picking season.
Over the decades, the demand for Pedda Rasalu variety in across Krishna district has only increased. The variety is supplied to Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
However, this season has seen no such activity due to the absence of workforce in the orchards. Another cause of worry is that the season for mango pickle-making will end in a fortnight. “By mid-April, Pedda Rasalu will hit the market and there is a huge demand for it from the pickle manufacturers. However, major mango markets are shut and bulk buyers have kept away from Nunna and Vijayawada due to lack of transportation.
Over the next fortnight, the harvested fruit will ripen and become unfit for making pickles,’’ said D Chinna Veerabhadraiah, a farmer who owns 10-acre mango orchard at Adavinekkalam village. A few days ago, Veerabhadraiah sold two tonnes of his produce to a Khammam buyer for as less as `50 per kg. “With no option left, I sold the fruit at `50 per kg as against the normal price of `90 per kg.” Meanwhile, some women in the city have started preparing pickles with the raw mangoes available in the market, despite lockdown.
“It has become difficult for us to identify the right mangoes in the markets. Choosing the proper fruit determines its taste and shelf-life. Poor availability of the fruit and soaring prices of sesame oil, chilli powder and other ingredients that go into pickle-making due to lockdown has forced us to prepare the pickle in a limited quantity,’’ lamented K Rukimini Devi, a homemaker. Vijayawada is home to around 100 families traditionally involved in picking mangoes to earn their livelihood. Most of these families set up temporary stalls on roadsides near Kedareswarapeta, Satyanarayanapuram, Machavaram, Moghalrajpuram, Krishna Lanka and Bhavanipuram areas among others.
“We are unable to find customers. Earlier, we earned `500 per day. But, now due to the lockdown customers are not turning up and it has become a tough task to meet our daily needs,’’ said R Lakshmi, who has makeshift stall at Moghalrajpuram. Speaking to TNIE, additional director (Horticulture) Ch Srinivasulu said this season farmers in Nuzvid had harvested 25 per cent of Pedda Rasalu.
However, due to unavailability of labour to pick and pack the fruits, hundreds of farmers are being subjected to hardships. “The Horticulture department has recently discussed with the farmers and is providing them a platform to sell the harvested fruit to bulk buyers from across the country,” Srinivasulu said.