Veda Ramaswamy, Vashi
May 08, 2011- DNA Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai’s Alphonso lovers are in for heartbreak. The prices of Alphonso mangoes in the market are expected to go up after Tuesday. Mango traders are saying that there’s more demand for the king of fruits than they can supply, which is the reason prices have risen.
The prices of all three grades of Alphonsos available in the market are set to rise. Premium quality alphonsoes are currently priced at Rs1,000-Rs1,200 and the next two qualities are available for Rs800-Rs1,000 and Rs600-Rs800 per box. Each box contains 4-5 dozens of mangoes and overall prices are set to rise by Rs200 a box.
“The prices of Alphonsos are set to increase after May 10. The shortage of supplies of mangoes has hit the market so hard that the cost is set to mount even more than it is,” said Sanjay Pimpale, a mango trader from Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and secretary of The Fruit and Vegetable Merchant’s Association.
Last summer, around 1 lakh boxes each containing 5-6 dozens of Alphonsos used to arrive at APMC every day. However, this year, the count has dropped to around 60,000-65,000 boxes per day. Erratic weather and unpredictable rainfall during the flowering period has led to the sharp decline in supplies. “Unpredictable rains in the Alphonso-growing region in November damaged most of the produce. So fewer fruits were available and prices were very high,” said Pandurang Dumbre, another mango trader from APMC.
The ever-escalating rates of Alphonso mangoes in the peak season have proved to be a cause of concern to Navi Mumbaikars. “My daughter prefers Alphonsoes over other types of mangoes. If prices go up further, it’s only going to affect the monthly budget of several families like mine,” said Sandhya Joshi, a resident of Belapur. The other varieties of mangoes such as Badam, Totapuri, Kesar and Rajapuri are currently priced from Rs50-Rs100 per kg. Their prices too, are expected to rise by Rs15-Rs20 per kg after May 20, said Pimpale.
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