Mangoes slightly dearer ?this season

The mango season has arrived, and a shopping tip: the prices at Hopcoms are way lower than at the supermarkets.

Prices are higher than last year by 10-20 per cent, shopkeepers said.

Early supplies include Alphonso, Raspuri, Banganpalli and Sindhura varieties, and they are selling
fast.

Most mangoes sold in Bengaluru come from districts in its vicinity: Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, and Ramanagara. Srinivasapur taluk in Kolar district is particularly famous for mangoes.

Some varieties come from neighbouring states. K M Parashivamurthy, additional director of horticulture (fruits section), says, "Benishan, from the Banganpalli family, is brought in from Hyderabad by the end of May, and Neelam comes from Tamil Nadu in June and July."

Kolar district alone produces 16 varieties. Gopal Gowda, marketing manager, Hopcoms (Bengaluru), says, "Mangoes are in short supply the first few weeks of the season, so the prices are bound to be high. Once the supply goes up, the prices automatically come down."

Fruits are classified into climacteric fruits (ripen after they are plucked) and non-climacteric (ripen on the tree).

"Mangoes sometimes go through the climacteric process. They are usually plucked in advance and a permissible amount of ethylene gas is used to ripen them," says Parashivamurthy.

The first harvest of mangoes is usually ripened after plucking.

Wallet guide
Mango prices remain high in April and most of May, and fall towards the end of May. They remain constant through June and July.

Supermarkets
Raspuri - Rs 180
Banganpalli - Rs 200
Badami - Rs 260
Benishan - Rs 300

Hopcoms prices
Totapuri - Rs 52
Sindhura - Rs 80
Raspuri - Rs 90
Malgova - Rs 140
Badami - Rs 180
Alphonso - Rs 190
Banganpalli - Rs 115

Melas for techies
This year, the horticulture department is planning mango melas at IT companies across the city.