Mangoes flood Vellore markets, shops

The king of fruits has arrived little early due to an unexpected yield in some areas, say traders

The Fort city might be reeling under the scorching sun, but summer is also the season of the king of fruits — mango. Many varieties of the fruit have started arriving in the market and and can be seen displayed at shops in Vellore.

There can be no summer without delicious mangoes. Mango Mandy in Vellore is bustling with activity with the start of the mango season. Traders say usually the season begins with Tamil New Year’s Day on April 14, but this year it began little earlier.

“This year, mangoes started arriving in the market in February. This was due to early and an unexpected yield of mangoes in some areas. As a result, the fruits started to arrive earlier than usual,” a trader said.

The fruit comes from various parts of the district including Kaniyambadi, Kammavanpettai, Latheri, Pallathur and Panamadangi. Andhra Pradesh also supplies plenty of mangoes, he added.

Varieties such as ‘Senthura’, ‘Banganapalli’, ‘Malgova’ and ‘Kalapadu’ are available. In the wholesale market, the price of mangoes ranges between ₹10 and ₹40 a kg depending on the variety, another trader said.

A kilogram of ‘Senthura’ costs between ₹10 and ₹20, while ‘Kalapadu’ costs between ₹20 and ₹30, ‘Malgova’, ₹20 and ₹30 and ‘Banganapalli’ between ₹15 and ₹25 in the wholesale market.

For mango lovers, this is just the beginning of the season. Traders say the supply will peak in May and June.