Pune market receives its first batch of Hapus mangoes from
Satish Ursal, a commission agent operating out of the market, said the first box of Hapus consisted of four dozen mangoes from Karnataka. (File)
The first consignment of Hapus mangoes from Karnataka arrived in the market on Thursday, marking the start of the mango season in Maharashtra. The mango season, traders in the Gultekdi wholesale market said, will be short and expensive due to lower produce.
Satish Ursal, a commission agent operating out of the market, said the first box of Hapus consisted of four dozen mangoes from Karnataka. “The quality of the fruit was good and it was sold at a premium of Rs 3,001 to a trader in the market,” he said. Ursal said this was the first batch of mangoes from Karnataka to have arrived in Pune.
The mango season this year is expected to be short as unseasonal rain and hailstorm have taken a toll on the orchards during the crucial flowering season of the fruit. The second flowering meant a delayed start to the season with quality of the mangoes also being compromised. Mangoes from Karnataka and the Konkan coast of Maharashtra will make a delayed arrival in Pune.
Ursal said the mango season will take steam only after April 15, when arrivals will improve.
“We feel the season will continue till the end of May, making this a short season for the city,” he said. Due to lower production, the fruit will be costlier than usual, he added.
Stray boxes of Konkan Hapus were trading at around Rs 5,000 to 7,000 per four dozen boxes in the market, Ursal said. Maharashtra has around 1 lakh hectares of mango orchards, which are concentrated mainly in the Konkan and Marathwada regions of the state.
Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Alibaug are famed for their unique taste and colour and have made their presence felt in the overseas market. For the financial year 2018-19, India had exported 46,510 tonnes of the fruit with the total valuation of the exports standing at $60.26 million. Over the last three years, Indian mangoes have faced challenges in the form of climate change and pest attack, which has affected growers.