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Chittoor mango pulp cluster Photo: Wil Carranza · Pexels License · source ↗

Chittoor mango pulp cluster

Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, on the south-eastern fringe of the Rayalaseema mango belt, hosts India's largest concentration of mango pulp processing units. The cluster, anchored by the towns of Chittoor, Damalcheruvu, Tirupati and Puthalapattu, processes a very large share of India's annual Totapuri mango crop into aseptically packed pulp, concentrate and beverage base for both domestic and export markets.

Cluster scope and scale

Chittoor and the adjoining belt across Tirupati, Annamayya and Sri Sathya Sai districts together with western Tamil Nadu (Krishnagiri) supply mangoes during a short April-July window. The cluster operates around 60-70 mango pulp processing units of varying scale, ranging from large export-grade aseptic lines to smaller open-top can units serving the domestic beverage industry. APEDA-registered exporters operate from this cluster, supplying buyers across the Gulf, Europe and South-East Asia.

Raw material base

Totapuri (Mango Totapuri) is the dominant pulping variety because of its large fruit, small seed, high pulp recovery and consistent acidity; it accounts for the bulk of throughput. Alphonso and Banganapalli (Mango Banganapalli Beneshan) are processed in smaller quantities for premium pulp grades. ICAR-CISH Lucknow, the central mango mandate institute, supports post-harvest research; ICAR-IIHR Bengaluru and state agricultural universities provide variety and orchard management inputs (Mango Orchard Establishment Hdp, Mango Flowering Management).

Process flow

Mangoes are received in plastic crates, washed, sorted, ripened in ethylene-controlled rooms, then pulped through a 0.7 mm finisher. The pulp is pasteurised, deaerated, aseptically filled into bag-in-drum (220 kg) or bag-in-box packs for bulk export, or canned in open-top tin for domestic use. Brix and acidity are standardised by blending across batches.

Economic and farm linkages

The cluster is the principal market for mango growers across Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya, Sri Sathya Sai and adjoining Krishnagiri districts. Procurement prices for Totapuri are volatile and politically sensitive each season because most growers lack alternative outlets at the scale processors absorb. Fruit fly (Fruit Fly Orchard Pest) and uneven flowering pose recurring orchard-side challenges that affect supply volumes. Value-added products (Mango Value Addition Rolls Thandra) provide some farm-gate diversification.

See also: Mango Totapuri, Mango Banganapalli Beneshan, Mango Value Addition Rolls Thandra.

Sources

  1. Mango pulp processing industry of Chittoor. APEDA Agri Exchange.
  2. ICAR-CISH Lucknow mango research and post-harvest technology. ICAR-CISH.