For all those die-hard fans who just can't get enough of the king of fruits, glad tidings are ahead. Thanks to the delayed onset of the mango season and arrival to the capital, this year the mango season will be an extended one.
Experts assert that for two more weeks, public in the capital can continue to relish the juicy fruit.
And that too at a cheaper rate!
This year, the arrival of mangoes, chiefly Benishan and Totapari, to the Gaddiannaram wholesale fruit market started slowly.
Every year, the mango season used to get over by the first week of June.
This year, however, there is a glut of mangoes at the wholesale fruit market.
Some traders, from fear of rains that could damage mangoes, are not averse to distress sale.
80,000 quintals
Between June 1 and 8 of this year, the fruit market received 80,000 quintals of Benishan and 32,000 quintals of Totapari variety.
Last year, during the same period, the wholesale fruit market had received 35,000 quintals of Benishan and 16,000 quintals of Totapari.
“Due to delay, mangoes will continue to arrive till June end. We have noticed that small producers (3 to 4 quintals) in auto trolleys and DCM vans from nearby districts are unloading their produce. The arrival of mangos from established producers of coastal districts in trucks is also steady,” says Secretary, Agricultural Market Committee (AMC), Gaddiannaram, V. Seetharam Reddy.
Thanks to the glut, rates have started to drop. “Since a week we have observed this trend. A quintal of best quality Benishan is being sold at Rs. 18,000.
Last month, the cost per quintal of the same quality product was between Rs. 27,000 and Rs. 28, 000,” said Shareef Mazhar, Secretary (grade 2), AMC, Gaddiannaram.
At the retail level, cost of Banginpalli, a variety of Benishan, has come down, as traders, to avoid difficulties in storage during rains, are indulging in distress sale. “Now the retail rate is Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 per kg. We just want to sell mangos before rains intensify,” says Aslam Kader, a trader at the fruit market.
