Juicy times for citizens as mango prices crash

SURAT, June 2: Owing to a bumper mango crop in Valsad district, the Valsad alphonso is much cheaper this year than last year, making it a...

SURAT, June 2: Owing to a bumper mango crop in Valsad district, the Valsad alphonso is much cheaper this year than last year, making it affordable for the middle class person. More than 30 crore mangoes have been produced in Valsad district alone this year, an official release issued here on Wednesday said.

This is the first time in a few years that the alphonso is available at bargain rates, and comes as a pleasant surprise for city-dwellers.

Available last year for about Rs 450 per maund (20 kilogrammes), the Valsad alphonso can now be had at Rs 150 to 180 a maund. Sources said that prices have been falling steadily over the past couple of weeks. It was priced at Rs 300 a maund when it hit the market earlier this month. “Nowhere in the city is the mango available at more than Rs 180 for 20 kilos,” said Jayesh Sharma, a trader.

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The Valsad Agricultural Produce Market Committee, is however of the opinion that the mangoes could become cheaper if the monsoon did not set in too early. Early showers like the ones experienced on Monday and Tuesday could harm the crop, the APMC felt.

As many as 40 trucks of the alphonso and another 35 trucks of the kesar variety are being off-loaded at the market yard everyday. Having over 350 shops, the Valsad APMC has been a source of income to about 3000 families that make the most of the the mango season. “There is a huge excess of crops and the prices this year are down, but the rains could spoil all that,” said Dinesh Bhanushali and Kishore Desai, both APMC office-bearers.

Harshadbhai Kataria, director of the Valsad Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) says that the Valsad alphonso, most of which is exported, has been a bumper crop this year. He contended that quality wise, the crop was better than the famed Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) alphonso variety.

The Valsad alphonso, APMC officials say, has hit the market about a week early. It normally arrives in the market after the Junagadh variety has already set in but this time around, with all varieties arriving in the market at around the same time, the crop seems even larger.

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Another reason why the fruit will be cheaper this year is because there have been equally good crops of the Ratnagiri alphonso and the Junagadh kesar varieties. “The Ratnagiri alphonso will take care of the Mumbai market and the Junagadh kesar will be exported, thus there will be an excess of the Valsad alphonso in the market,” APMC president Ramesh Desai said.

Desai added that a recent technical seminar on increasing mango production, jointly organised by the State Export Corporation and the Valsad APMC, had also borne fruit, with farmers using scientific methods to increase production in their orchards.

According to programme executive of the National Horticulture Board, J B Singh, Surtis will be the main beneficiaries of the bumper crop in the neighbouring Valsad district. 1953 metric tonnes of the Valsad alphonso arrived in the city, whose value was Rs 4.42 crores, he said. 85 per cent of the mangoes were from Valsad while the remaining were from Ratnagiri, he added.