The return of Indian mangoes to New Zealand after more than three years is turning out to be a lip-smacking success.
Importers and retailers say they have spent the last couple months keeping up with the demand, as prices have plummeted because of increased supply and the wide variety available.
“The response has been superhit, I was in short supply some weeks,” says Ashish Gajera of fresh produce wholesalers Welkin Enterprises.
A bulk of the Indian mangoes coming into Aotearoa have traditionally been imported from facilities in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh, and they have to comply with New Zealand’s strict biosecurity requirements.
The vapour heat treatment facility in India’s financial capital was banned in 2020, after border control found fruit fly larvae and eggs in one of the consignments from Mumbai.
That meant the Indian diaspora from western Indian states like Maharashtra and Gujarat missed out on one of their favourite varieties of mango, ‘Kesar’. The ban was lifted this May.
“I am from Gujarat, and Gujaratis are mango lovers,” Ashish says. “The Kesar variety is famous in that region. This season, I have manged to import Kesari mangoes even from Junagarh and Kutch.”
Ashish points out the increased supply has led to a massive drop in mango prices. “From $80-$90 for a box of 10 to 12 mangoes, you are now having to pay only $50-$60!”
At Yogiji’s Food Mart in Auckland, the mango box aisle has been clearing out fast lately. Director Anand says in the last two months alone they have sold 23,000 boxes.
“Customers seem quite happy. Even with such high cost of living, they have been able to afford mangoes.”
A bulk of the mangoes found in supermarkets across the country are imported from Australia, Peru and Mexico. But Ashish says these varieties are “no match” to the ones grown in India.
“The Australian mango is different. The ones in India are very sweet. The Australian ones are big in size but taste-wise they are no match to, say, Alphonso, Kesar or Banganapalli.”
The return of the Indian mango is also a diplomatic story of sorts. Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan told The Indian Weekender she began working on bringing the fruit back to the country soon after she took charge.
“I would say, it has been a win-win outcome because we were working with the New Zealand side. Mangoes are appreciated very much by our diaspora members, and our friends here in New Zealand and this was a very positive outcome.”
She pointed out the facilities in India “are excellent”, and that she assured New Zealand’s biosecurity authorities “whatever requirements are there, India was ready to do that”.
“We followed up with the ministry of primary industries and an inspection team went to India in, I think, April. They saw for themselves all the most ultra-modern cold chain facilities, and how the biosecurity requirements were being fulfilled by us.”
The mango season in India is nearing its end, and some wholesalers have already stopped importing the fruit. If you are craving for the juicy sweetness of that ‘desi aam’, you are running out of time, at least for this year.
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