The mango season has opened on an expensive note for lovers of the king of fruits in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. Thanks to low supply this year, mangoes come at a higher price compared to last year. While retail vendors were selling varieties such as the popular Banganapalli at Rs 80 a kilo on Tuesday, many of the other varieties were priced at over Rs 100 a kilo in the bigger markets.
At the Connemara market, Palayam, most of the popular mangoes were priced well above Rs 100 a kilo on Tuesday. Banganapalli, named after the town in Andhra Pradesh, the first mango variety to enter city markets, was going at Rs 120 a kilo. The Sindooram and Sapotta, were also priced at Rs 120. Even the local Chenkalvarikka was priced at a whopping Rs 140. However, retail stands across the city were also seen selling Banganapalli at Rs 80. Vendors at the Connemara market attributed the high prices to reduced supply of the fruit.
“The supply is very low this year. Last year, the prices for the same varieties hovered around Rs 100,” Abdul Qadir, who has a stall at Palayam, said.
Overall, mango production has been low this year, said Mohan Kumar, general secretary of the mango growers’ association in Muthalamada, Palakkad, the ‘mango land’ of the state. “The harvest is low. The rainfall in Tamil Nadu had hit farming,” Mohan Kumar said.
Vendors here expect prices to fall once consignments start rolling into the market in earnest. “The prices will go down in a month or so when more mangoes start coming. We expect the price to dip by at least Rs 50,” Abdul Qadir said. While the fruit was priced relatively low last year, the use of artificial ripeners such as calcium carbide had dampened sales. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has banned the use of acetylene gas, or carbide, to artificially ripen the fruits.
