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Institute of Agribusiness Management, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502.
Mango occupies a significant position among the fruits grown in India, hailed as the king of fruits due to its versatility and utility. Various processed food products, including pickles, baby foods, mango leather, and toffee, are derived from mangoes. In Andhra Pradesh, Kakinada district hosts a substantial number of mango jelly processing units, generating income and employment opportunities. However, challenges such as adverse climatic conditions affecting mango crops, lack of credit facilities, price fluctuations, labor availability, storage facilities, and equipment maintenance impact the working capital requirements and overall profitability of processing units. Middlemen practices, poor profit margins, limited market intelligence, and domestic demand constraints also pose marketing barriers. Policy interventions and support from the government are crucial to improve infrastructural facilities, access to credit, fair pricing, and market intelligence, ultimately promoting the growth of the mango jelly processing industry in Andhra Pradesh.
KEYWORDS: Constraints, Mango, Marketing, Processing.
Mango’s, often hailed as the “king of fruits” holds immense economic significance in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Mango cultivation is currently being promoted commercially. Mangoes are widely accessible as fresh fruit, frozen food, and processed food. Mangoes are a seasonal fruit, fresh fruit used to be in high demand exclusively during that particular season. In contrast, there will always be a need for processed or added-value mango products. Mango preservation through pickling has long been traditionally practiced in India. There are also a number of value-added mango products on the market. Value- added product processing boosts farmers’ revenue while reducing post-harvest losses. Additionally, it improves off-season accessibility, nutritional balance, employment prospects, export trade, and foreign exchange. Mango pulp, mango juices, nectar, squash, jams, jellies, toffee, custard powder, and cereals are processed items made from ripe mangoes. Unripe mangoes are used to make processed goods such as pickles, dry mango powder, chutney, and beverages. Aside from these items, other well-liked mango products are mango leather and mango candy, popularly referred to as “Aam papad”.
The Kakinada district in the Andhra Pradesh state is well known for being a significant mango jelly-producing area. It is home to a number of small and medium-sized businesses that produce mango jellies. Due to factors like shifting consumer preferences, urbanization, and an escalating health-conscious population, the market for processed mango products has been continuously rising on a global scale. As a result, mango processing units have gained significance as essential players in the agri- food industry. However, Low-capacity utilization and fluctuating profitability of the processing firm are issues that are frequently raised by the industries. Furthermore, different size classes of processing enterprises exhibit different levels of efficiency. The study will also take into account the suggestions for addressing existing issues and restoring mango jelly production to its former exquisiteness. The study was carried out with the following objective; to study the constraints faced by the processors during processing and marketing of mango jelly.
The research was carried out in the Andhra Pradesh district of Kakinada during the year 2023 since it has the most area specialized to mango jelly production. Ten processing units were purposefully chosen from the district. Six of the 10 selected processing units are chosen at random from the unorganized sector, while four are chosen from the organized sector. The ‘issue’ in the present study was defined as undesirable situations in mango jelly processing as perceived by processors.
Based on an extensive research of the literature, interactions with mango jelly processors during pretesting, and expert opinion, a total of 18 difficulties were identified and classified into two categories: mango jelly processing and mango jelly marketing. The mango jelly processors were asked to rank each problem in terms of severity. The limitations were prioritized using the Garret ranking technique. Suggestion was operationally defined as the requirements given by disorganized and organized processors in order to meet their demands. The suggestions made by the respondents were carefully observed and quantified using frequency and percentage. Finally, the proposals were sorted from one to twelve in descending order of frequency acquired.
Garrett’s Ranking Technique was used to determine the respondent’s largest limitation. The primary advantage of this technique over ordinary frequency distribution is that the limitations are organized according to their severity in the point of view of the respondents. As a result, the same number of responders on two or more limitations may have received different rankings. Garrett’s formula for translating ranks to percentages is:
Percentage position = 100*(Rij – 0.5) / Nj
where Rij= Rank given for ith item by jth nursery owner.
Nj= Total number of constraints ranked
The processing firms studied were examined in order to determine constraints in the processing of mango jelly. The results from Table 1.1 revealed that adverse climatic conditions that affect the mangoes were the major constraint, as reported by the sample units at 86 percent. Lack of credit facilities with 79.89 percent was the next major problem for the processors, as they were lending the money from private lenders with a high rate of interest, followed by price fluctuations of mangoes with 66.33 percent, which was the other major concerning constraint. It affected the working capital requirement during every period of processing, and the lack of government support for mango jelly processing was another problem in terms of limited access to infrastructure facilities and credit facilities for mango jelly production. The other constraints faced during processing were the unavailability of labor, a high working capital requirement, a lack of storage facilities, and year-round maintenance of equipment.
Similar findings were identified by Kumar (2023) in his study that the arrangement of finance and price fluctuation in raw material and procurement were the major problems.
As per the results in Table 1.2, the processors stated that the lack of a fair price was the biggest issue at 84.67 percent, followed by a poor profit margin of 70.11 percent. The processors reported that the middlemen’s malpractices constituted a barrier to obtaining a
remunerative profit. Due to a lack of large buyers in this region, the majority of the mango jelly product was sold to a smaller number of clients. Lack of market intelligence, hefty middleman commissions, and limited domestic demand were additional marketing barriers.
The study provides the several challenges that were facing during processing and marketing of mango jelly and given realistic recommendations to solve these issues. Mango jelly processors can optimize their production processes, increase their profitability, and ensure the mango jelly industry’s long-term viability by applying these recommendations. To ensure a robust and prosperous future for mango jelly processors, stakeholders must collaborate and take proactive efforts toward implementing these recommendations. Same findings were observed in Dolapo’s (2016) study, the major constraint was lack of reliable market in marketing the produce.
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