More pulp, less tax: Govt panel hits the sweet spot with ‘aam’ proposal to help Totapuri farmers
Those ‘aam’ Totapuris may soon decide more than just the flavour of your drink!The mango variety could also determine the GST rate on your flavoured drink under the Centre’s latest move to support farmers while encouraging beverage makers to use more real fruit. The government has proposed reserving the concessional 5% GST rate for mango-based beverages containing 22-25% genuine natural mango pulp.The proposal is based on the findings of a Centre-appointed expert committee and is intended to revive demand for Totapuri pulp after prices slumped this season across the country’s main growing belt.The panel, headed by T Damodaran, director of ICAR-Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH), Lucknow, submitted its report to agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The minister has directed officials to initiate inter-ministerial consultations on the committee’s suggestions.The committee had been constituted to examine the steep decline in Totapuri mango prices in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Tax incentives for Totapuri drinks
At the heart of the report is a proposal to link the GST treatment of mango-based beverages to the quantity of genuine natural mango pulp they contain. The committee has recommended that beverages with 22-25% pulp continue to qualify for the concessional 5% GST slab, while products with pulp content below the prescribed threshold should attract a higher GST rate.According to the agriculture ministry, the proposal is expected to increase consumption of Totapuri mango pulp while also improving the nutritional quality of beverages available to consumers.To implement the recommendation, the Centre will convene an inter-ministerial meeting involving the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the GST Council, and the ministries of finance, food processing industries, agriculture and health to finalise the standards and tax structure.“In the committee’s view, if only those beverages which contain more than the prescribed limit of pulp are kept in the 5 per cent concessional Goods and Services Tax (GST) category, and higher GST rates are applied to low-pulp products, then on the one hand consumption of Totapuri mango pulp will increase, and on the other hand consumers will get more nutritious and genuine fruit-based beverages,” ministry of agriculture & farmers welfare said.
Why Totapuri prices crashed
The panel attributed the decline in Totapuri prices to a combination of factors, including a mismatch between processing capacity and procurement timelines, low pulp content in beverages sold in the domestic market, and volatility in global prices.Damodaran said processing units in several centres do not begin procuring fruit early enough in the season, even as large volumes of mangoes reach markets at the same time. This bunching of arrivals pushes down prices and affects farmers’ incomes, he said in an official statement.To reduce such fluctuations, the committee has recommended setting up a Central Coordination and Price Stabilisation Committee covering Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.Before every season, the proposed body would evaluate crop estimates, processing and export demand, input costs and market conditions before arriving at indicative farm-gate procurement prices and reference pulp prices, giving both growers and processors advance price signals.
Reviving ageing orchards
The report also drew attention to ageing Totapuri orchards in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya and Kadapa districts, where yield and fruit quality have been declining.To improve returns from these orchards, the committee has recommended top-working by grafting existing trees with scions of higher-value varieties such as Neelam, Alphonso, Himayat and Banganapalli. It said this could restore orchards to more remunerative production within two to three years.Alongside this, the panel has suggested cluster-level adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), farmer training programmes and demonstration plots.It has also proposed fruit-covering across an initial 23,333 hectares in the four Andhra Pradesh districts to reduce insect damage, improve fruit appearance and position the produce for premium markets.
Procurement and exports
The committee has recommended introducing a zonal procurement and pre-processing system, with annual procurement plans to be jointly prepared by the horticulture department, processing units and farmer producer organisations (FPOs).It has also proposed a standard operating procedure for Andhra Pradesh requiring all registered processing units to begin procurement and pulp production from May 15 each year.To create additional income opportunities, the panel recommended promoting farmer-led and FPO-based value-addition models, including mango butter and other seed-kernel by-products using ICAR-CISH and IIHR technology.At the meeting, APEDA representatives outlined plans to expand domestic and export markets for Totapuri and other Indian mango varieties, with particular emphasis on sea freight to reduce logistics costs and access new destinations.Chouhan said APEDA, ICAR and the state governments would jointly prepare a coordinated export and marketing strategy for Totapuri-based processed products and fresh table mangoes.The minister said the objective is to make the Totapuri value chain farmer-centric through a roadmap that aligns GST, food safety standards and state-level policies. He expressed confidence that implementing the recommendations would sustainably raise incomes for Totapuri growers across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka while strengthening the market positioning of Indian mangoes globally.The committee’s report follows field visits to Tirupati and Chittoor districts between July 8 and 10, where members interacted with farmers, FPOs, market representatives, pulp processors, exporters and district administration officials across the Totapuri value chain.
