Now, Maharashtra and Karnataka lock horns over mangoes

The king of mangoes – Alphonso – is at the centre of a struggle among Maharashtra and Karnataka. Soon after having problems from mango growers in Maharashtra that Alphonso-like generate from the bordering Point out are consuming into their margins, Maharashtra’s Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse has stepped into the fray.

He explained stringent lawful motion would be taken from those associated in selling ‘fake’ Alphonsos in the industry.

The Minister has requested Agriculture Generate Marketplace Committees (APMC) marketplaces to continue to keep a view on traders passing off other versions of mangoes as Alphonso. Vaibhav Naik, MLA from the Konkan area recently approached the Agriculture Minister with a criticism that Maharashtra’s Alphonso growers had been struggling large losses mainly because of “fake” Alphonsos from the neighbouring Point out.

Distinctive GI tag

Alphonso mangoes from Konkan have a GI (geographical indications) tag for their one of a kind flavor, aroma and color. Violation of GI of Items (Registration and Security) Act, 1999, attracts a jail phrase of 6 months and ₹50,000 in penalty.

Even as some researchers believe that that the Portuguese introduced Alphonso to Konkan, researchers and farmers in the area assert that it is a area solution and the Portuguese took it to the world industry.

The king of mangoes is one of the major resources of earnings for the Konkan farmers. Devesh Deodhar, a trader, who got Alphonsos to market in the Pune industry, explained he tried using to retail them for ₹1,200 (tiny dimensions) and ₹1,five hundred ( massive dimensions) per dozen. “But some individuals explained that they had been having it at ₹500 per dozen. Any grower of Alphonso cannot pay for to market the fruit at this rate. Clearly, there are other versions of mangoes which are getting offered as Alphonso,” he factors out.

Versions grown

India is property to about one,000 versions of mango. Nonetheless, only a several versions are commercially cultivated all through India. Maharashtra farmers predominantly improve Alphonso, Kesar and Pairi while Karnataka farmers improve Alphonso, Totapuri, Banganapalli, Pairi, Neelum and Mulgoa.

According to APEDA, the major mango-escalating States are Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Uttar Pradesh ranks initial in mango manufacturing with a share of 23.47 per cent and the best efficiency.