Mumbai: A severe shortage of much-loved Alphonso mangoes in the Indian city of Mumbai has been caused by cold winter and unseasonable rains. The price of the sweet-tasting fruit, used in religious rituals and in various drinks, has doubled from 2010.Boxes of a dozen are now selling for as much 2,500 rupees.
The Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board said that production had dropped by around 30 percent of the normal yield.
It says that the export of Alphonsos had been adversely affected.
Experts say that the reason for the decline in output is because areas in the Konkan region where the Alphonso is grown have been hit by a harsh winter.
“This is a coastal area and the temperature hardly drops below 17 or 18C,” said Dr Subhash Chavan, a fruit research expert.
“But it dipped [below that] for 65 days between December and February and as a result, the fertilisation process was adversely affected.”
Media reports say that India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world, but it has not yet acquired a corresponding hold of the international market.
The country boasts more 1,000 varieties of the fruit.
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