The Hindu : Other States / Uttar Pradesh News : U.P. mangoes in high demand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 13, 2005

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Other States - Uttar Pradesh

U.P. mangoes in high demand

Besides Dussehri, Chausa and Langda varities are in much demand abroad

LUCKNOW: "The choicest fruit of Hindustan", Amir Khusro once described mango in his Persian verse!

The truth seems to have caught the fancy of people in other countries as well, who have developed a nose for this highly nutritive fruit.

After the famous `Dussehri' mango of Uttar Pradesh establishing its aroma and taste the world over, `Chausa', another mouth-watering variety, is much in demand in offshore markets.

Known for its gentle sweetness and a fair average size, Chausa has been successfully exported to England and several European countries with demands for the variety pouring in frequently.

"A substantial consignment of Chausa is reaching London by June 30 next," R.K. Tomar, Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Cooperative Marketing Federation Managing Director said here today.

With Dussehri already an established brand name in the global market, the sudden surge in demand for Chausa came as a heartening news for mango growers, exporters and the State government, he said.

Dr. Tomar claimed the popularity of Chausa was dependent upon the fact that each fruit normally weighed more than 300 grams with its thick, golden-yellow skin.

"Moreover, its shelf life is longer than other varieties like `Langda', which is very delicious but highly perishable under export conditions," he informed.

While Dussehri is grown mainly in Lucknow, Saharanpur and Meerut, the area of production of Chausa is Western belt of Saharanpur and Meerut.

A unique initiative has been recently taken by the U.P. government to market high quality mango under the brand name of `Nawab', both nationally and internationally. Two modern mango `Pack Houses' have already been commissioned at Lucknow and Saharanpur under the aegis of a separate Department of Agriculture Marketing and Agriculture Foreign Trade, Mandi Parishad, U.P.

In yet another initiative by the State Government, mangoes have been exported to Dubai via Mumbai sea route. The first consignment was dispatched only yesterday, which would take about 10 days to reach the destination.

"This is basically being done to develop Dussehri protocol and it would go a long way in enhancing mango export from UP," the officials said. The export via sea would help achieving competitive rates in the mango markets of Dubai and London.

According to Mandi Parishad, the combined export of mango from U.P. had been targeted at 1,000 tonnes during the year 2005-06 with exports to countries such as Dubai and other gulf countries, UK, Germany, Singapore and Malayasia. China has been another country to come into the export list of U.P. as far as mango is concerned. About 250 tonnes of mango was exported to China last year, which got sold in Beijing and Shanghai markets within two hours, officials claimed while affirming the demand of U.P. mangoes the world over.

Dr. Tomar said the volume of export and foreign exchange earned notwithstanding, efforts had been successful as far as acceptance of the U.P. mangoes abroad was concerned.

Mango is the most important fruit in India, accounting for 22 per cent of the total production in the country. The total production of 12 million tonnes is the world's highest with a global share of more than 50 per cent.

U.P. has been the leading State for mango production and areas under cultivation, with magnificent orchards of world famous Dussehri, Chuasa and Langda varieties. -- UNI

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