Coronavirus lockdown: Alphonso lovers missing 'King of Mangoes'

Come February, boxes Alphonso mangoes start arriving from Sindhudurg and March form Ratnagiri. The two Konkan belt twin districts of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg is famous for mangoes, particularly of the Alphonso variety.

Known popularly as Hafoos, Hapus, Hapuz, or Aapoos, the maximum production is in Devgad tehsil -and it has got a Geographical Indication tag.

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The Covid-19-India lockdown has restricted the movement of consignments as transport of only essential commodities, milk, vegetables and medicines and medical products are allowed.

Dr Vivek Bhide, the President of Konkan Mango Growers' & Sellers' Association, the main wholesale markets are Navi Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara in Gujarat.
"We do not know what to do now. Where would the production go," Dr Bhide told DH over the phone. "Not only the domestic sales, the exports too are hampered," he said.

He said that nearly 3.30 lakh metric tonnes of Alphanso are produced every year.

More than 20,000 families or over 1.20 lakh people, those who depend on Alphonso, are badly affected. "The farmers, transporters, all are suffering," he said.

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"We are missing Alfonso mangoes.... this is part of our dessert in March, April, May and June," said foodie Sandeep Dutta.

"The market is very bad now...we are suffering huge losses," said Surendra Thakur, who has a mango farm in Vengurla coastal town. "Around this time, we get Rs 500 per dozen, now we are not even getting Rs 200 to 250...even if mangoes reach Mumbai, there are no takers," he said.

As far as retail prices are concerned, last season, it sold between Rs 700 to 1,500 a dozen.

According to the data of the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board, nearly 52,000 tonnes of Alphanso was exported in 2017. Some of the places where it is exported are United States, Japan, Korea, Australia, South Africa.

For export to US markets, nearly 1,200 tonnes is irradiated in facilities of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

What makes Hapus special?

Alphanso mangoes have a rich, creamy, tender texture and is low in fibre content and delicate pulp. The flesh is golden saffron in colour. The thin skin turns bright golden yellow with a tinge of red on the top. The variety is named after Portuguese general, Afonso de Albuquerque, who established Portuguese colonies in India. They had introduced grafting on mango trees to get extraordinary varieties like Alfonso.