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King Alphonso arrives with sky-high prices

The wait for the king of fruits to arrive in Ahmedabad markets has ended, but the skyrocketing prices may well leave the mangoes tasting a little bitter.

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The wait for the king of fruits to arrive in Ahmedabad markets has ended, but the skyrocketing prices may well leave the mangoes tasting a little bitter.

With nearly 75 per cent of production affected by unfavourable weather conditions during the flowering period, the prices of Kesar and Alphonso varieties of mango have hit the roof.

Trade experts said that Kesar mangoes, which were available for Rs100 to Rs150 per 10 kg during the same period last year, now cost Rs200 to Rs300, in the wholesale market of the Talala Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), which accounts for 30 per cent of India’s total Kesar produce.

“The reasons are obvious. The mango trees are without fruit this year because of the weather, probably brought on by global warming. The production this year is only 20 to 25 per cent of last year. As a result, the prices have shot up,” Talala APMC chairman VM Chothani said.

He said that Kesar mangoes had begun arriving in the market. In the last two days, during auctioning at the Talala APMC, 12,000 boxes each with 10 kg mangoes had arrived, a total of 1.2 lakh kg of Kesar mangoes. The wholesale price has been pegged at between Rs200 to Rs300 per box, which means that the price per kg for retail buyers is around Rs50, a drastic increase from last year’s figure of Rs30.

According to Chothani, the usual flow of mangoes is yet to arrive, and will only be seen by the middle of the month. He however said that he did not expect mango prices to fall considerably later this season.

As far as Alphonso mangoes are concerned, horticulture officer SS Gamvit of Valsad district said that prices had risen dramatically on account of the lesser production. “The price of Alphonso is now between Rs1,100 and Rs1,200 per 20 kg, while it was between Rs700 and Rs800 last year. The prices may fall by May 15, when the major chunk of mangoes arrives, but it will not spell relief for mango lovers,” he said.

In the Ahmedabad fruit market, 3,346 quintals of Kesar arrived on Thursday, with the prices ranging from Rs25 to Rs40 per kg; while 666 kg of Alphonso arrived, with prices ranging from Rs40 to Rs60 per kg, in the wholesale market.
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