Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh wrote to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart K Vijayanand, requesting him to lift the ban.
Published Jun 11, 2025 | 6:34 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 11, 2025 | 6:34 PM
Prices of Totapuri have dropped after pulp manufacturing units in Chittoor and Tirupati stopped procurement, as India is witnessing a record high production and early harvesting. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: The Collector in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district “unilaterally” imposed a ban on Totapuri mangoes from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are locked in a dispute that is sweet, juicy, and fragrant.
The dispute stemmed from the Chittoor district collector, on 7 June, imposing a ban on Totapuri (Ginimoothi) mangoes from states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The ban on mangoes, the king of fruits, left Karnataka fuming. Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Tuesday, 10 June, wrote to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart K Vijayanand, requesting him to lift the ban.
“This abrupt and unilateral restriction has caused significant distress to mango farmers in Karnataka, particularly those in the border districts who cultivate large volumes of Totapuri mangoes, and rely heavily on the Chittoor-based processing units for marketing their produce,” she said in the letter. “The disruption of this long-established interstate trade linkage poses immediate threats to their livelihoods and may result in substantial post-harvest losses.”
She pointed out that the collector, to enforce the ban, has deployed “multidisciplinary teams comprising officials from the Revenue, Police, Forest, and Marketing Departments” at all border check-posts adjoining Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The ban, she claimed, undermined the spirit of cooperative federalism and risked triggering retaliatory sentiments.
“There is already apprehension that affected stakeholders in Karnataka may obstruct vegetable inflow from Andhra Pradesh, escalating into unnecessary interstate tensions, something we must all strive to avoid,” the officer cautioned.
Calling for her counterpart’s urgent intervention, Rajneesh requested him to issue appropriate directions to the authorities in the Chittoor district.
“A coordinated and consultative approach would be more appropriate for addressing any concerns related to agricultural trade and phytosanitary risks, if any, the interests of farmers on both sides safeguarding the interests of farmers on both sides,” she added.
An official from the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd told South First on condition of anonymity that “A state-level meeting was held today and no decision has been taken.”
The skin of the Totapuri mango does not have the usual bitter taste, or has a very slight bitterness, and is consumed with the flesh traditionally. It got the name ‘Totapuri’ from its shape that resembles a parrot’s beak. The orchards in Karnataka are witnessing a bumper harvest this year.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
