"No aam baat this: Kutchi Kesar eyes China, Canada  "

‘If the cargo service starts, Kutch can export more than 20 tonnes of mango by air daily’. d.v. maheshwari
 
Bhuj, April 4: MANGOES from the dry border district are set to capture Chinese and Canadian markets this year after their popularity in London and Dubai last year.

The month-long season of Kutch mangoes, known as ‘Kutchi Kesar’ is to start from the middle of the next month with its high production this year. Fruit merchants are already here from various parts of the state and outside to book their buying from well-known pockets of the fruit in the district. ‘‘Normally, wholesale price of the fruit remains between Rs 10 to Rs 15, but a Marvari group booked 15 truckloads of Kutchi Kesar at Rs 16 per kg with advance payment of 25 per cent to the growers. Thirty more truckloads have also been reported to have been booked,’’ S B Moradia, deputy director of Horticulture here told this paper on Monday.

He said Kutchi Kesar, which had gained popularity in the past few years with its total cultivation now in 3200 hectare, was high in total soluble solid (TSS) with juicy sweet flesh no other mangoes in the state had. He said this was a result of micro nutrient because of Kutch land being volcanic in nature.

He said the yield was likely to be 30,000 to 35,000 metric tonnes this year. He said Kutchi Kesar was on its way to replace most-sought after Pakistani variety of Chorso. He said Chorso was most popular in England, but after tasting Kutchi Kesar, Britishers have taken to it.

He said some 150 tonnes of Kutchi Kesar was exported to London by air from here last year. He said the only private airline running its service between Mumbai and Bhuj was a passenger one, it could carry only three tonnes of mangoes daily. ‘‘If the cargo service starts, Kutch can export more than 20 tonnes of mango by air daily,’’ he said, adding that fruits being perishable items, they could not be sent by other routes. He said considering inquiries for export, there was likelihood of Kutch exporting quite a bit of Kutchi Kesar this season.

Fruit merchants say that popularity of Kutchi Kesar had surpassed known varieties of the fruit from Valsad and Junagadh so much that the latter are being packed in and sold under Kutchi brand name.

Courtesy :ExpressIndia.com 4/4/2005