Mangoes produced in Odisha are all set to cross borders as the State’s Directorate of Horticulture has decided to export the homegrown varieties to overseas markets.
Director of Horticulture Sanjeev Chadha revealed, “We are promoting sales and export of local mangoes. We have got an order from Finland. The quantum of exports is expected to go up after the functioning of the international airport (in Bhubaneswar).”
Chadha said, “We have set up a company, namely Dhenkanal Fruits and Vegetables Marketing Company limited, having processing and packaging facilities so as to cater to the demand of the international market. Packaging and processing are two major factors when you intend to enter the field of export.”
Currently, Odisha is dispatching mangoes to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. In 2011-12, the State produced 7,15,179 tonnes of mango in 1,42,358 hectares of fruit-bearing areas. The mango production was 6,42,010 tonnes in 2010-11 while it was 5,77,476 tonnes in 2009-2010.
About 90 per cent of the total mangoes currently available in the Odisha market are produced in the State and the rest 10 per cent (Banganpalli mango) is imported from Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Angul, Sambalpur, Rayagada, Koraput and Kandhamal districts are the major mango-producing hubs. Varieties like Himsagar, Bombay Green, Gulabkhas, Subarnarekha and Cherkurasam are grown in early season (April).
The Banganpalli, Dashehari, langra, Kisan Bhog and Ratna varieties are grown in mid-season while Chousa, Totapuri, Amrapalli, Mallika and Fazli are grown in end of the mango season (July-August).
New plantations of commercial and hybrid varieties have been taken up over 1lakh hectares during the past seven years, said Directorate of Horticulture sources. Mango plantations were undertaken in 10,300 hectares of area in 2011-12 under the National Horticulture Mission (NHM).