This year so far, around 10,000 tonnes of mangoes, including Dasari, Mallika, Amrapalli and Lengada varieties, have been produced in Dhenkanal.
Every year, mangoes are supplied to Delhi by businessmen and the Horticulture department officials. The mango hub - Dhenkanal Fruits and Vegetable Marketing Company Ltd’ - procures the fruit from farmers, upgrades its quality, packs and transports it to Delhi and Bhubaneswar markets. This apart, the businessmen purchase the fruit from farmers and send it to Delhi between May and the first week of June.
According to official reports, the Horticulture wing has sold 18 tonnes of mangoes in Delhi so far and the figure is 50 tonnes in the case of businessmen. Due to the short supply, only selective mangoes weighing more than 200 grams, are being supplied to Delhi. Last year, the Horticulture wing sold 27.7 tonnes of mangoes in Delhi markets.
To help the farmers, the State Government has opened the mango hub in Govindpur, 10 km from Dhenkanal town. It aims at checking distress sale and facilitating export of quality mangoes and boosting farmers’ income. Farmers selling the fruit in the hub get `30 to `40 per kg with an additional bonus on the sale amount, which is lucrative, Deputy Director of Horticulture D Panda said.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015 USD)
