It’s raining mangoes

Mango lovers in city go gaga over surplus varieties available in the market, thanks to EU ban
These days, the aam aadmi is only talking about the aam. From the EU import ban and the varying prices, to more variety in the market — just about everyone is hooked to the topic about the king of fruits.
After European Union (EU) imposed a ban on import of mangoes, more varieties of the fruit seem to have hit the market, and mango lovers are certainly going gaga over it.Simran Singh, an ardent mango lover, says, “Alphonsoes are my favourite and thanks to the EU ban, suddenly, they are available in large quantities and at a lower price. Their loss is our gain for sure.”
Another mango lover, Anirudh Nukala, says, “Mango varieties like Banaganapalli, which are quite famous in the city, are available at `50-55 in the wholesale market, so people are just gorging on them.” Talking about the prices, Anirudh adds, “The prices have gone down and lots of first quality mangoes, which were supposed to be
exported, are available in the market.”
Santosh Kabre, owner of a wholesale shop in Kothapet Fruit market, is in agreement too. He says, “Prices of alphansoes has come down tremendously because there’s a lot of supply. Though the EU ban is not really affecting the price of other varieties, since there are more mangoes in the market, the overall prices are not as high as they used to be.”
But while many people are excited about the dipping prices, there are a few who are concerned about the quality of mangoes. S Ravikanth, a health-conscious IT employee, says, “I have stopped buying mangoes, at least for now. I know there is a lot of buzz about it, so I want to see how this progresses before I begin eating mangoes again.”
There are people who are looking at alternatives as well. “After the EU ban, we are kind of precautious about the mangoes we are eating. We are thinking of switching to organic ones instead,” says Radhika Saran, a mother of two.
And thanks to this, Arifa Rafee, owner of a farm producing organic mangoes, has enough reasons to rejoice. She says, “More and more people are turning towards organic fruits because there’s a wave of concern — atleast amongst those who are well informed — about the quality of mangoes since the import ban. So, we have witnessed an increase in customers compared to the last couple of years.”
But should we really be worried about it? Experts have their part of the story to tell. Explaining the reasons why EU has possibly banned Indian mangoes, Dr A Srinivas, senior scientist, at the Fruit Research Centre, Sangareddy, says “Indian farmers generally, use pesticide and sprays aplenty without any caution. So, chemical deposits accumulate on fruits and this can be really harmful to liver,
pancreas and other organs.”
So, should we stop eating mangoes? “Not really,” says A Srinivas, explaining, “Just take some precautions. Whenever you buy mangoes, soak them in salted, warm water overnight and then wash thoroughly before eating. This way, the mangoes would get rid of all the harmful chemical residues.”
One more thing which is likely to affect the consumption and prices of mangoes, is the current weather conditions. Santosh says, “Due to the strong wind, mangoes fall off the trees prematurely and they don’t ripe properly. So if the weather continues to be the same, the markets will be flooded with low-quality mangoes and the prices may go down in a bid to sell them.”
Irrespective of so many factors, nothing could possibly come in the way of the mango and the aam aadmi.