The first consignment of 800 boxes of Malawi mangoes from Africa will arrive today at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC)'s fruits market in Vashi. This is the fourth year that Indian traders have imported Malawi mangoes. They are in high demand in the Indian market and have a flavour similar to Ratnagiri Hapus.
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa, sandwiched between Zambia and Tanzania. Some boxes from the first consignment will likely be sent to Pune, while the remainder will be sold in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
According to APMC traders, grafts from Ratnagiri Alphonso trees were taken and planted over 1,500 acres in Malawi around 10 years ago, with the rootstock of local mangoes available there.
"The climate and soil of Malavi are suitable for mangoes, and there is a good yield of Alphonso there," said Sanjay Pansare, director of the APMC Vashi fruits market.
Mangoes from Malawi are in high demand because they are available four months before the mango season begins in Maharashtra and taste similar to the local Alphonso. Annora Imports and Exports is the importer of the Malawi mango. A box contains approximately 3kg of mangoes and is priced between Rs1200-1500 per kg. "In retail, each box will cost around Rs3600-5000, depending on the size of the mangoes," Pansare said.
Pansare stated that Malawi mangoes are available from mid-October to mid-December, as opposed to the Indian variety, which is available from February to August. "This is also one of the reasons that this imported variety has a high demand because of its earlier availability and similarity in taste," he explained. Devgad Alphonso arrives two months ahead.
The first batch of Alphonso mangos from Devgad arrived on Friday at the wholesale fruits market. Farmers Prashant and Devesh Shinde of Devgad's Kakwan village brought the first batch of two dozen Alphonso mangoes. According to Trader Ashok Hande, mangoes arrived two months ahead of schedule. The two dozen were priced at Rs 9000 each.
