According to the Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMC), Vashi traders, hopper and thrifs infection in the Konkan mango has decreased its production drastically.
This year, the Karnataka alphonso has beaten the Konkan alphonso — the king of fruits — in terms of production and sale.
According to the Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMC), Vashi traders, hopper and thrifs infection in the Konkan mango has decreased its production drastically.
“The average production of alphonso in Maharashtra is around one lakh crore boxes of mango. However, this year, the production is less than the 50%. Normally, one box contains four to nine dozen mangoes,” said Sanjay Pansare, wholesale mango trader and former director of APMC, Vashi.
Pansare said that currently the Konkan alphonso has been sold at the rate of Rs80-200 per kg while Karnataka alphonso rate is only Rs40-90 per kg.
“Most of the alphonsos we are getting in our market are from Karnataka only. The Karnataka alphono is cheaper than the Konkan mangoes, and therefore, people are choosing the Karnataka Alphonso. Actually, Currently, we are getting mango consignments from Hubli, Dharwad and Shikrapur in Karnataka,” Pansare said.
Dr C Aswath, senior scientist at Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, told dna that the major difference between the Konkan and Karnataka alphonso is the taste and fragrance. “The climate plays a crucial role in getting the particular flavour and fragrance in the Konkan alphonso. The Konkan mango is mainly a coastal crop. The soil there is reddish and that generates the particular flavour. The Konkan mango is sweet and the Karnataka one is less sweet. Besides, the upper layer of the Konkan mango is thin while that of the Karnataka mango is quite thick,” Aswath said.
He said that they are also supplying mango consignments to gulf, Europe and the US.
“There is a great demand of the Konkan alphonso across the word, but its lesser production has hampered our business. And due to the shortage, there are dim chances of Konkan alphonos prices coming down. Most of the Indians settled abroad buy Indian mangoes. The drought in Marathwada has also affected business,” he said.
In the beginning of the mango season, the first lot of mangoes come from Kerala. The lots from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh follow.
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