Farmers in Telkoi region of Odisha’s Keonjhar district have been facing marketing challenges despite producing large quantities of quality mangoes every year, sources said on Friday. The area is known for cultivating popular mango varieties such as Hemsagar, Sundari, Amrapali, and Baiganpalli, which are in high demand in several cities outside the State.

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Every year, tons of mangoes are harvested in Telkoi, making it one of the important fruit-producing pockets of the district. However, growers claim that the absence of a proper local market and organised procurement system has forced them to depend heavily on traders from outside Odisha for the sale of their produce.

According to farmers, mangoes from Telkoi are being exported daily to cities like Varanasi, Ranchi, and Kolkata, where the fruits reportedly receive strong consumer demand due to their taste and quality. Despite this, cultivators allege that the existing transportation and marketing arrangements are insufficient to handle the full scale of production.

Farmers say that a significant portion of the harvest cannot be transported or sold at profitable prices, resulting in distress sales and financial losses. They claim that middlemen and outside traders often dictate prices, leaving the local mango growers with limited bargaining power.

Many cultivators have urged the State government to create a proper market linkage and support system for mango farmers in the region. They believe that better storage facilities, transportation support, and direct market access could help them receive fair prices for their produce and improve their income.

Farmers also stressed that if proper marketing infrastructure is developed, Telkoi mangoes could emerge as a major fruit brand from Odisha in the coming years.

“We are not getting a suitable rate. This year, on average, we gave the Hemsagar mangoes for Rs 17 or Rs 16. Currently, it has increased by one or two rupees, going up to Rs 19 or Rs 20. So, these outside parties are coming and taking them. If we can’t sell these mangoes, then it won’t be possible for us to sell them here on the road either,” Gagan Nayak, a farmer from Siriabahal, expressed to OTV.

“The farmers have a good relationship with us. When mangoes ripen, the local farmers ask us to come and take the mangoes. So we come, pluck the mangoes, get them packed, then load them nicely into a vehicle and send them to Kolkata,” an outside trader, Mohammed Ismail, stated.