New Delhi: Repeated storms in northern India since May 14 have destroyed almost 25 per cent of the region's mango crop and Uttar Pradesh is the worst affected, according to a government estimate. "The storms have substantially damaged the mango crop. The loss would not be less than 25 per cent. The details are being sought from different states," said an agriculture ministry official.

The first set of squalls hit Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana on May 14. There were more storms on Friday, affecting Uttar Pradesh the most. North India faced storms again over the weekend.

While city dwellers revelled in the unexpected relief from midsummer heat, "it is going to affect the export of mangoes this year", said the official requesting anonymity. "If the weather continues to be inclement, we expect more damage to the country's most important fruit crop."

The thunderstorms have caused havoc to the crop in Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for 34 per cent of India's mango production. In a normal year, the state produces around 5.83 tonnes of mango per hectare."Our damage estimation is not less than 25 per cent. This can go up once the details are received from different districts. Friday's squalls caused heavy damage," said B M C Reddy, director (mango) at the Lucknow-based Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture.

He said that there had been seven to 10 per cent damage to the crop Friday alone, following which damaged mangoes were being sold at throwaway prices. "The mango growers did not even get 20 paise for a kilogram. A bumper crop of mango was expected in the state this time, but the storms and squalls have hit the crop hard," Reddy added.

R K Boyal, general manager, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), said, "The thunderstorms reported from northern states in the past few days have substantially damaged the mango crop and may affect exports as well. The real picture will emerge only after the states do a damage assessment."

According to APEDA, India exported 79,060.88 million tonnes of fresh mangoes and 156,835.52 million tonnes of mango pulp in 2006-07. Major markets for Indian mangoes are Japan, Europe and the Middle East.The major varieties of mangoes exported include Dashehri, Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli, Langra, Chausa, Mallika, Swarnrekha and Totapuri.