PUNE: Alphonso, the king of mangoes, locally known as hapus, have started trickling in at Pune’s markets costing Rs 3,000 per dozen in the retail market.
Mangoes start arriving in Pune’s fruit market by the end of February every year but this year, the arrival was delayed by almost a month due to incessant rains last year.
Other varieties of mangoes like badami and lalbagh are being sold for Rs 150-200 per kg.
“For the first time, there was less supply of mangoes this season. I have got four boxes of hapus, both Ratnagiri and Devgad, and per dozen, it is Rs 3,000 while a box costs Rs 8,000,” said Yogesh Kachi, a shopkeeper at Mahatma Phule Mandai.
SUPPLY REMAINS LESS
As per Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Pune received around 2,800 kg of supply of mangoes including alphonso and mangoes from Karnataka and Kerala.
Head of Fruit Section and Vice-Chairman of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard Association Yuvaraj Kanchi said, “Finally on Sunday, there was a substantial supply of around 400 boxes in Market Yard including hapus and south Indian varieties. The wholesale price of hapus is Rs 3,000-7,000 per box while per dozen it is Rs 1,000-2,500.”
“However, the rates have drastically reduced as the first box, which came a couple of weeks back, was priced at Rs 21,000,” Kanchi added.
EXPORTS DELAYED
“The export of mangoes was expected to begin by March 15 but as the flowering was delayed due to the extended rainfall, the production is still less and not enough for exports,” said Uday Joshi of Kelshi Parisar Amba Utpadak Sangh, Dapoli, Ratnagiri district.
“The production is less this year due to erratic climatic condition and the export is likely to start by April,” he said.
Technical Advisor in the Agri Export Cell of State Agricultural Commissionerate Govind Hande said that the spread of coronavirus and its domino effect on other activities could also affect the export activity.
“Currently, there is a disturbance in air traffic due to the spread of coronavirus worldwide and hopefully, the situation will be controlled in the coming weeks so that the export of mangoes can begin by next month,” Hande said.