Demand for GI tagged alphonso mangoes on the rise

The wholesale APMC market in Vashi receives an average of over 40,000 mango boxes from the Konkan region daily. The region got the GI tag mark in 2020 and so several mango growers are supplying GI-tagged mangoes to the market.

Navi Mumbai: The Maharashtra government’s initiative to tag more than 400 million alphonso mangoes – the annual production – to certify the genuineness of the product is yielding results. Buyers’ demand for GI tagged alphonso mangoes – grown in Konkan regions like Ratnagiri and Devgad – is on the rise and hence farmers, too, are registering for the same.

“There are often mangoes from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other areas which are passed off as Ratnagiri or Devgad alphonsos which are high in demand. The GI tagging ensures the customers get the real stuff from the Konkan region and cannot be taken for a ride,” Sanjay Pansare, APMC director (fruit), said. (HT PHOTO)

The wholesale APMC market in Vashi receives an average of over 40,000 mango boxes from the Konkan region daily. The region got the GI tag mark in 2020 and so several mango growers are supplying GI-tagged mangoes to the market.

The same is the case with the direct-to-home from farms sale of mangoes with more private companies and mango farmers selling such GI-tagged mangoes directly to the buyers straight from the farms.

“There are often mangoes from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other areas which are passed off as Ratnagiri or Devgad alphonsos which are high in demand. The GI tagging ensures the customers get the real stuff from the Konkan region and cannot be taken for a ride,” Sanjay Pansare, APMC director (fruit), said.

Raigad, Sindhudurg and Thane districts have got GI tags, he said, adding, “This has led to the increased interest of the retailers in GI tagged alphonsos at the APMC market as their customers are then assured of what they are purchasing.”

KisanKonnect, an online farm-to-doorstep supplier, in its third year of operation in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Pune is offering GI-tagged alphonso mangoes directly from the farms as its procurement and processing unit in Navi Mumbai has seen a major boost in demand for such mangoes.

“We are witnessing an increasing demand for GI-tagged mangoes from various markets. When the markets are flooded with a variety of mangoes with lesser information known about their origin and authenticity, the GI-tag helps the buyers know the right Alphonso mangoes, its place of origin and authenticity,” said Nidhi Nirmal, business head and director of KisanKonnect Safe Foods Private Limited.

She added that they have developed a GI-tagging solution by which the buyer comes to know about the point of origin of the mangoes, the exact location of the orchards and other details.

“We are expecting to sell about 75,000 mango boxes with GI-tagging this season,” said Nirmal.

Prakash Chougule 40, a farmer from Ratnagiri, said that many mango varieties from other parts of the country and even South Africa are being sold as alphonso mangoes to gullible customers at a cheaper price.

“This affects our business,” he added. “Through GI-tagging customers get the taste of authentic alphonsos that come from the right place and are high in quality. It is not as if all alphonso farmers have registered for GI tagging, but the number is increasing as everyone wants to benefit from it.”

Subhamoy Ghosh, 52, a resident of Kopar Khairane, recently ordered GI-tagged alphonsos, as the earlier box of mangoes that he bought from APMC was not up to the mark.

“It is difficult to believe the vendor when he claims to be selling alphonso, as every mango that looks like it is sold as such,” he said. “I have asked my friends to get GI tagged alphonsos, as you do not want to compromise on it as they are available for a limited period.”