Maharashtra’s Alphonso mango crop suffered massive losses due to extreme weather conditions.
Heatwaves and El Nino disrupted flowering, fruit-setting and overall mango production severely.
West Asia conflict and freight costs further hurt India’s mango export trade.
Maharashra’s farmers are struggling to meet orders from India’s online grocers after the orchards failed to produce Alphonso mangoes this year, reported Reuters.
India is the world’s largest grower of mangoes and produced 28mn metric tonnes of the fruit in 2024 to 2025, data from research and rating agency Crisil stated.
1 May 2026
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Citing experts, Reuters reported that hotter weather in Maharashtra ruined this year’s crop of the variety known as the 'King of Mangoes'.
Bapusaheb Manikrao Lambade, a government agriculture officer in Devgad, one of Maharashtra's top Alphonso-growing areas told Reuters that there was a visible sharp difference in day and nighttime temperatures in December and January that impacted flowering and fruit setting process during that season. Further adding to the stress, hotter than usual weather in April and May, probably due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, then completely spoiled the fruits.
El Nino is a climate pattern that affects global weather and can trigger extreme conditions. A strong El Niño is expected this year and forecast to have an adverse effect on crops across Asia, South America and Africa.
A government-backed survey by scientists and field officials earlier this year, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, estimates this year's crop losses in Devgad at 85% to 90%. The weather has also caused losses in mango-growing areas elsewhere in the state.
India's mango market size was worth $2.3bn in 2025, according to Indian research firm Mordor Intelligence, which projected the market to grow to $3.4bn by 2031.
While much of the fruit stays in India - mangoes are popular during the blistering summer heat - about $56mn worth of mangoes and $80mn worth of mango pulp were exported in 2025.
Reuters spoke to more than a dozen farmers in Maharashtra, as well as traders, businesses, exporters and government officials, who said losses had been severe and production among the lowest in decades.
West Asia War Spoils Market
The damage caused by weather was further compounded by the slump in exports as a result of the West Asia conflict.
India is one of the world’s largest exporters of mangoes, competing with countries such as Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam.
The United Arab Emirates, the US, UK, Kuwait and Qatar are among the biggest importers of Indian fresh mangoes.
Shridhar Pathak, co-founder of mango exporter Shreevali Agro, told Reuters that freight charges had more than doubled and delays or cancellations to consignments for the Gulf including Dubai and Oman have cut their shipments by nearly 40% this year.
Mangoes originally earmarked for export have been sent to local markets instead, driving prices down despite the El Niño-linked shortages, he said.
The disruption has rippled across the supply chain, also hurting businesses linked to the seasonal mango trade.
