First mangoes sell for Rs 2,500-5,000 a box

Mango lovers may have to fork out a little more this season as the production cost of the king of fruits has gone up by roughly 25 per cent which is likely to hoist up its market price The pinch can be felt already If you go shopping at the Vashi APMC Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committee market one of these days a box of mangoes will cost you anywhere between Rs 2500 and Rs 5000 for four to 10 dozens Come March the onset of high season projected for this year the price surge is expected to soften Costly Alphonso mangoes from Devgad arrive at Crawford Market yesterday PicShadab Khan The various kinds of mangoes coming to the market at this time include Alphonso Lalbaugh Badami and Pairi Around eight tonnes of Alphonsos have been arriving at the market from places like Ratnagiri Devgad and Vengurla on a daily basis The other varieties come from southern states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Besides the Alphonso around four to five tonnes of Lalbaugh and 100 kg of Pairis have also been coming daily Factors pushing up the production cost include cost of pesticides diesel labour charges and transportation Sanjay Pansare wholesale trader of mangoes and director of Vashi APMCrsquos fruit market said ldquoThe season of mangoes has begun early this time as compared to last year when it took off after April 10 Reasonablypriced mangoes will arrive March onward this year ldquoBut the production cost has gone up this year as the prices of daily commodities have risen drastically leading labour to demand extra wages for sustenance Then diesel prices have gone up which has made transportation more expensive Moreover one has to spend almost Rs 400 on pesticides on a single box of mangoesrdquo Pansare says that there are no voluminous sales as of now since people generally wait for prices to drop rather than buying the fruit at this time Though the affluent do purchase mango boxes for gifting purposes ldquoWhen these boxes are to be given as gifts with wedding invites we make it a point to decorate them using gelatin paper and colourful paper flowers due to which the price increasesrdquo said Pansare who has already received orders for gift boxes from areas in South Mumbai Ram Morde a mango retailer at Crawford Market said ldquoOnly elite classes can afford mangoes during this season In case therersquos a wedding we are generally in touch with the caterer who takes mangoes in bulk from us They are then supplied at marriage functions which take place at areas like Mahalaxmi racecourse and Marine Drive I supply 1020 dozens of mangoes per dayrdquo Then there are a few locals like Navi Mumbairsquos NRI Sandeep Bangia who is known to take Alphonso mangoes as gifts for his friends and relatives in the country when he visits them ldquoDuring AprilMay luggage trolleys piled with mango boxes are a common sight at airports My friends back in Delhi have requested me to get them Alphonso whenever I go there I also take fruits as presents for my relativesrdquo Voices Would you spend Rs 2500 for a box of mangoes now or wait till the prices dip I hail from Jaitapur in Konkan where we grow mango trees Mangoes during this season are not very tasty and I would rather wait than spend so much This is not the best season to buy mangoes as they may not be ripe Amod Tahmankar businessman I love mangoes but would not indulge in them at such a high cost If the fruit has arrived in the market early this year there are chances that chemicals were used to ripen it early which would have an effect on health Meena Srikanth gynaecologist I absolutely love mangoes but would never buy them at such a high rate Once the season sets in I am sure the market will be flooded with a lot of tasty and fully ripe varieties Gargi Chugh IT professional