Mango pulp industries to clear farmers’ dues
- A meeting on pulp industry issues was held at Chittoor District Collectorate
- Minister Ram Prasad Reddy, MP Daggumalla Prasad Rao and Puthalapattu MLA Dr Murali Mohan attend
Chittoor: Transport Minister and Chittoor District In-charge Minister Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy urged mango pulp industry owners to support mango farmers by clearing their pending dues without delay.
A review meeting on mango pulp industry issues was held at the Chittoor District Collectorate here on Monday, presided over by Collector Sumit Kumar.
The meeting was attended by Minister Ram Prasad Reddy, Chittoor MP Daggumalla Prasad Rao, and Puthalapattu MLA Dr. Murali Mohan.
Speaking on the occasion Minister Ram Prasad Reddy said that Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is giving top priority to resolving the problems of mango farmers. The State government announced a support price of Rs. 4 per kg for mangoes and deposited Rs. 183 crore directly into the bank accounts of mango farmers in Chittoor, Tirupati, and Annamayya districts. Out of this, Rs. 146.84 crore has been credited to 31,929 mango farmers in Chittoor district.
The minister stated that the government directed processing units to pay farmers Rs. 8 per kg, including the support amount. He asked industry owners to be considerate and ensure fair payment to farmers. He also assured continued government support for the development of the pulp industry, including subsidies and basic facilities.
MP Daggumalla Prasada Rao said mango pulp industries and farmers are interdependent and should work together. He urged pulp factory representatives to submit detailed reports on how much price they are paying to farmers and to settle support price payments as early as possible.
District Collector Sumit Kumar informed that 2.40 lakh metric tonnes of mangoes were procured from farmers in June and July this year. He noted that some industries in Chittoor are paying lower rates compared to others in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, and urged better coordination between farmers and industry owners.
Mango industry representatives mentioned challenges such as higher import duties in European markets and requested the government to reduce GST on mango pulp and establish a Mango Board.
