Mango, jackfruit fair from Friday

Kicker

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Hopcoms will conduct its annual mango and jackfruit festival from Friday at its retail stores at Hudson Circle, bringing the best varieties of the two fruits to consumers.

The different varieties of mangoes and jackfruit will be both displayed and sold, providing a direct market for the farmers.

Hopcoms will also offer a 10% discount on the fruits. The festival will be inaugurated by veteran freedom fighter H S Doreswamy.

Fruits sold during the festival will be sourced from Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara and other parts of the state.

"All fruits are naturally ripened and free from chemicals," Hopcoms managing director B N Prasad said. "The fruits will be sold at select Hopcoms stores across Bengaluru. Farmers from mango and jackfruit growing districts will directly take part in the festival."

Hopcoms chairman A S Chandregowda said the corporation is targeting 1,000 tonnes of fruit sales this year.

"We sold about 740 to 750 tonnes last year. We want to scale up the sales since there's a surplus production of mango. While the Badami variety of mangoes account for 50% of the output, the other varieties make up 10% each," he said.

Officials said that Hopcoms would offer mangoes in three-kilogram and five-kilogram cartons.