Nothing redeems the thought of a long summer better than the anticipation of a succulent mango.
But the golden fruit appears to have got pricier this season, as usual. However, fruit dealers and Hopcoms assure that the rates will come down over the next few weeks even as they suavely insist it was the same prices last year.
The Bangalore Fruits and Vegetable Shop at Thippasandra is charging around Rs. 60 a kilo for mangoes of all varieties. Kantharaja, the salesperson at the shop, said right now there are five popular varieties available — Alphonso, Raspuri, Badami, Benganapalli and Sarauli (green mango).
Just the beginning
If mangoes are expensive now, it is because the season has just started and there are not enough arriving from other States. Mr. Kantharaja expects the harvest from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to arrive by the end of this month to push prices lower.
“As the season has just started, not many are buying mangoes. Only by the end of this month can we expect an increase in the number of customers,” he says, adding that mangoes will begin to make their proper entry into markets by the end of April or by the first week of May.
Not good enough
Nisha S., homemaker, said that there is no question of buying mangoes now because they are so expensive. She waits till May or June, when the market is flooded with more varieties during an ‘on’ year. This is supposed to be an ‘on’ year, though Nazar Ali, a bank employee, grumbled that the quality of mangoes is poor this time of year.
The markets have seen a huge demand for Alphonso and the local Mundappa mangoes. They are currently expecting consignments of mangoes such as Mallika, Dussheri, Nawab, Chosa and Malgoa.
