Expert Panel Calls for Mandatory 22–25% Mango Pulp in Beverages, Higher GST on Low-Pulp Drinks to Rescue Totapuri Growers

Totapuri mango growers across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka experienced a severe decline in farm-gate prices this season, prompting the Ministry of Agriculture to constitute a high-level expert committee to diagnose the problem and propose remedies.

The panel identified a cluster of structural failures: beverage manufacturers were using only a small quantity of real mango pulp in their products, processing capacity in key growing regions remained inadequate, processors delayed procurement well into the season, and export demand was volatile. Together, these factors depressed offtake and caused prices to fall sharply for farmers who grow Totapuri — a variety primarily destined for the processing and pulp industry rather than fresh consumption.

The committee's headline recommendation is a minimum pulp-content mandate: all mango-based beverages should contain at least 22–25% natural mango pulp. To give the rule teeth, the panel has proposed a two-tier GST structure — products that meet or exceed the pulp threshold would retain the existing 5% concessional GST rate, while those falling below it would attract a higher levy.

The twin-instrument approach is intended to:

• Incentivise beverage companies to reformulate products with more real fruit content
• Increase overall Totapuri pulp offtake, supporting grower incomes
• Deliver more nutritious, fruit-forward drinks to consumers

Implementation will require coordination across the FSSAI, GST Council, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health — an inter-ministerial meeting that Chouhan has already directed officials to convene.

Beyond the GST lever, the committee has recommended creating a Central Coordination and Price Stabilisation Committee to track production, processing capacity, exports and market conditions ahead of each mango season, and to publish indicative procurement prices for farmers alongside reference prices for mango pulp.

On the procurement side, registered processing units in Andhra Pradesh would be required to begin buying from farmers no later than May 15 every year, addressing the delayed-procurement problem that worsened this season's price collapse. The panel also called for zonal procurement and processing plans developed in collaboration with Farmer Producer Organisations.

To raise long-term productivity, the committee proposed rejuvenating ageing Totapuri orchards through top-working — a technique that allows high-value varieties such as Alphonso, Banganapalli, Neelam and Himayat to be grafted onto existing trees — alongside Good Agricultural Practices, demonstration orchards and farmer training programmes.

The committee went beyond primary pulp markets, recommending that farmers and FPOs explore value-added products derived from mango seed kernels — including mango butter — using technologies developed by ICAR institutions. The panel also proposed providing fruit bags to growers to improve fruit quality at the farm level, a relatively low-cost intervention with direct implications for the price premium farmers can command.

These downstream diversification measures are designed to reduce farmer dependence on a single, price-volatile outlet — raw Totapuri pulp sold to large processors — and to capture more value within the farming community itself.

Acknowledging that expert committee reports often gather dust, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the government would take concrete steps at the policy, technology and market levels. He said the Centre would prepare an integrated roadmap that aligns GST policy, food safety standards, export promotion and state-level frameworks to make the Totapuri mango value chain more farmer-centric.

Chouhan expressed confidence that implementing the full set of recommendations would deliver a sustained increase in farmer incomes while strengthening India's competitive position in the global mango market. The next visible milestone will be the inter-ministerial meeting, whose deliberations will determine how quickly — and how faithfully — the panel's proposals are translated into enforceable standards and tax notifications.