India: Steady supply to make alphonso affordable

This one-time supply outstripping demand is going to be welcome because it will mean that the king of mangoes, the alphonso from the Konkan
(Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts mainly) will come within reach of more buyers. With an estimated 20% increase in production, growers from the region expect a healthy fruit and a bumper crop, provided the weather does not have extreme swings between now and mid-March.

Last year, untimely rains had adversely affected the mango crop in the Konkan, leading to black spots on most of the mangoes which made them unfit as table fruit. This resulted in a steep rise in the prices of the fruit.

This year, the chill set in early January, delaying the flowering but not affecting the quality of the fruit. However, instead of a batch wise production, this year alphonso mangoes will reach the market in bulk between March 15 and May 15. Coupled with an estimated 20% increase in production over last year, growers expect the supply to exceed demand.

Alphonso mangoes are mainly grown in the Konkan region, especially in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. According to data with the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), these two districts produce about 2.9 lakh tonnes of mangoes. Raigad and Thane districts also produce some varieties of mangoes while the Devgad taluka in Sindhudurg district produces the world’s best Alphonso, about 50,000 metric tonnes annually.

Santosh Patkar, manager of the Devgad Taluka Mango Growers Co-operative Society, said: “The first boxes of mangoes are currently on their way to the market. But this is a sporadic produce and the mangoes are low on taste. The mango season in its true sense will start by March 15. We expect a bumper crop between April 10 and May 15.”

In an effort to stamp out the blatant plagiarism of the Devgad Alphonso name, the society plans to process of opening exclusive marketplaces for the Alphonso in Mumbai, Mr Patkar said.

“Many traders pass off other varieties of mangoes as Devgad Alphonso. So we plan to start selling on our own. We have held preliminary talks with a person in Andheri and are looking out for places in other parts of Mumbai as well. We aim to start direct selling of Devgad Alphonso from our members’ orchards at these places from March 15,” Mr Patkar said.


Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Publication date: 2/13/2009