Krishnagiri: Not only Syria, but also the mango pulp units in Krishnagiri are in trouble because of the civil war in that nation that is affecting the export business here.
The Agriculture Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) identified Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, next to Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, as a major mango pulp producing district in India.
These two states having around 65 units, do 80 per cent of the exports and the rest comes from the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat to meet the requirement of 80 importing countries including the big importers Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.
So far, India has exported 5, 25,496.49 tonnes in four years since 2014-2015 financial year, worth Rs. over 3,15,750 lakh. But this number is declining now.
In 2014-2015, mango pulp exports from India was 1, 54,820 tonnes worth Rs. 84,138.56 (in lakh) and that came down to 1, 28,866.01 tonnes and in rupee value to 79,618.08( in lakh). This is 25,954.68 less in tonnage terms in 2015-2016 when compared to the previous year. However, 2016-2017 showed a slight improvement of over 2,000 tonnes against the previous year.
The total export in 2016-2017 was 1, 30,886 tonnes, worth Rs. 84,601 (in lakh), against exports in 2015-2016 which recorded 1, 28,866 tonnes. “The decline in the export was because of many issues including the rust found in the tin containers; customers prefer the bulk pack and stopped placing orders with the companies which does not have aseptic packing facility; the conflict in few West Asian countries including Syria is another factor,” D. Mathialagan, a pulp manufacturer here told DC. According to Mathialagan, the present year is also not good when compared to the previous mango season. India has exported 1, 10,923 tonnes of the pulp this year, which is 19,963 tonnes less compared to 1, 30,886 tonnes in 2016-2017 and it would further decline if the same situation remains the same in the West Asia countries. “Our fate depends on the industries converting mango pulp as juices and other products in the West Asian countries. Any trouble for them will have its impact in our business” D. Mathialagan added.
