Bad weather has been resulting in rain and hail in several parts of Saurashtra for the past 10-12 days. This has badly affected hit the kesar mango production in Junagadh, Gir-Somnath and Amreli districts. While kesar mangoes have started trickling in the markets, farmers say there is a huge loss in the crop this year due to the climate change effect. The recent rain and hail have only added to their woes.
Farmers fear a loss of around 40% in these three districts, which grow maximum kesar mangoes. Last year they were hit by the cyclonic condition that prevailed around the time of fruiting and later the Covid-induced lockdown.
According to timesofindia.indiatimes.com¸ the production is likely to be low even as the area under kesar cultivation has increased to 25,000 hectares from 20,000 hectares a few years ago.