🥭 The Million Dollar Mango Business
Before you feast on delicious mangoes this season, let's analyse this delicious industry!
Summer is almost here and you know what that means: it is time for mangoes.
Ever wondered why mango is our national fruit?
Probably because not only are we the largest mango producing nation, producing 40.1% of the world's mangoes, we are also one of the largest mango consuming nations!
Yes, out of more than 20.26 million metric tonnes of mangoes that we produce, we export only 49.6 thousand metric tonnes of fresh mangoes (~0.25%) and 98.3 thousand metric tonnes (~0.5%) of mango puree (earning around $56 million).
The rest is all consumed by us.
Looking at this massive love for mangoes and growing international demand, a lot of companies and startups have entered the mango business.
The Mango Business
A lot of us have fond, nostalgic memories of our guardians picking out the freshest and the juiciest mangoes for us.
But in this era of Blinkit and 10 mins delivery, many of us don’t have the time or patience to do that.
How do you then get your hands on top-quality mangoes - the only thing that makes summer season tolerable?
Enter: mango-delivery companies.
These companies promise to deliver farm-fresh, organic and chemical-free mangoes straight to your doorstep.
But in the process, they are also providing farmers with an integrated supply chain of mangoes.
Huh?
Many states now allow farmers to sell mangoes directly to retailers and wholesalers and not at the mandis where they usually sell all their produce.
While this opened up an avenue for farmers to earn more money from their crop than the regular mandi prices, finding wholesalers and retailers outside the mandi was a task for them.
The entry of these companies into the market has solved this problem for many farmers.
Many of them are also using tech to help farmers with production and packaging.
However, doorstep delivery isn’t the only pulp in the mango business…
The Potential of the Mango Industry
The global demand for mango puree is on the rise, thanks to people's growing concerns with health.
More and more people are moving away from products with artificial colours and flavouring and adopting good old natural products.
Because of this, the global mango puree market is set to be worth $2.1 billion by 2026.
Don't believe us?
Well, what if we told you that India Maaza, a mango drink, had beaten Coke in terms of popularity in India?
In FY21, Maaza saw sales worth Rs. 2,826 crores, which was much more than that of Coke's (whose exact numbers weren't revealed), according to a company official.
Plus, the government of India is working tooth and nail to increase our mango exports. We've been holding mango festivals and mango fairs to highlight our mango diversity.
We've secured exporting rights to Bahrain and the US recently. Other countries like Argentina and Malaysia are also showing interest in Indian mangoes.
And these companies' chemical-free, sustainably packed mangoes may just be the thing that convinces these countries to buy from them.
Problems Facing the Mango Industry
We've talked about all the rosy aspects of the mango industry.
However, its true potential can only be unlocked if some major problems facing the industry can be solved.
One major thing that these companies will have to do is leverage tech to increase farmers' production and yield which has gone down in recent years.
Many mango-producing states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka have seen an extreme rise in temperature in the last few years which has obviously impacted mango production.
Plus, the industry is restricted by the fact that mango is a seasonal fruit.
If these companies could help develop and produce seeds that were resistant to climate change, there would be no stopping them. And a lot of opportunities also exist in making sundried mango and mango seed variants that last longer.
Can’t stop thinking about mangoes? We have planned an AMA with AamKesari’s Founder to answer all your mango questions!
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