Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Beginning of the season... or end?
|
Mangoes have come with forbidding price tags, thanks to poor yield this year. A look at the mango season...
|
THE TIME is ripe for yellow sweetness. Watermelon has gone, having accomplished its mission to soothe parched throats. Luscious mango is here to tickle our palate with sucrose.
Surprisingly, no sooner has the mango season begun than the end is in sight.
"The season has been on for one month now. And it could barely last for a month more. There haven't been many mangoes this season," says Prabhu of Murugan Fruit Stall at Panagal Park Market. "The fruits have just been trickling in so far. That's because of lack of rains at the proper time."
"Customers are complaining that the prices are very high. What can we do? We are buying them at a steep price, too," says Sekhar of Murthy Fruit Stall.
"Where normally a kilo should sell for Rs. 30, it's selling for Rs. 60 this season," says Prabhu.
Pannerselvam of Dhanalakshmi Fruit Stall speaks words of hope. "In 10 days the prices will go down."
Sekhar has an interesting theory to account for the poor mango yield this year.
"If a year witnesses an abundance of tamarind, there will be a paucity of mangoes."
Where do the mangoes come from?
"Ninety per cent of Chennai's mango demand is met by Andhra Pradesh. But so far mangoes have come only from Salem and Palakkad," says Sekhar.For Prabhu, the supply has been from Tiruchi and Salem. "We are getting
Banganapalle from Andhra and Alphonso from Mumbai," he adds.
How about the variety this summer?
"We have got all varieties of mangoes — Malgoa, Alphonso, Chendura, Emayat, Udhadas, Salem Naduchallai Peethar and Banganapalle," says Sekhar. "But it's the numbers that's worrying. It has not been so few in earlier years."
"There are mango groves in Chennai. But the quality is not good enough," says Prabhu.
In any situation, one could always confidently look for a silver lining. "When there is a profuse supply of mangoes, there is the danger of a number of mangoes lying unsold and rotting. This year, we don't have to fear such a situation. For, there aren't many mangoes coming into the market, in the first place. What we stock will surely get sold," says Prabhu.
What do the buyers have to say?
"The prices seem to be higher. Mangoes which sold for Rs. 8 are selling at Rs. 10," says Sudhakar, who owns a petrol bunk in the city.
"The season has just begun. And for this stage of the season, one could say the prices are cheaper. The fruits are fully ripe and good. The prices are bound to go down," says Lion R. Vaidyanathan, proprietor, Triteck Engineering Construction. He, however, adds that the Banganapalee prices are on the higher side.
This summer has not been as "succulent" as we would have liked it to be. The watermelons were not as sweet as they used to be. And the mangoes have been flashing forbidding price tags.
PRINCE FREDERICK
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
|
