RAJKOT: Good news for kesar mango lovers. Your wait will be over next week. However, while it sweetens your palate, it will surely burn your pockets this year, as mango pundits of Gir, predict the starting price of the king of mangoes to touch Rs1000 per 10 kg in the wholesale market. Therefore, by the time it reaches your plate, it surely will be a 'hot delight'!Bad weather and prolonged winter have delayed the delivery of mangoes by eight to 10 days this season. According to mango growers in Gir area this year the first fully ripen mangos will be seen in the market in the next 10 days. Further, the crop was also damaged because of unseasonal rain and heavy wind during January and February.Jayesh Hirpra, a farmer of Javala near Talala in Gir Somnath district said, "This year, climate change has affected the crop cuttin g production down by 20 to 25 percent than last year. Generally after March 15 we start selling our produce, but this year the crop is late and will start selling the fruit only from next week."Mango is cultivated in nearly 20,000 hectare area in Gir region. Gir Somnath, Junagadh and Amreli are the major districts that grow world famous kesar mango.Farmers directly sell kesar mango in Ahmedabad for the past last couple of years under the banner of mango festival. The organizer Gir Krushi Vasant Producer Company Limited, which is registered as Farmers Producers Organization (FPO) is coming out with an innovative idea this year. It is planning to start selling mangoes in Ahmedabad from the second week of May, with an interesting twist.Director of FPO, Bhagirath Damalia said, "We are planning to use innovative marketing techniques this year where we will make the mango farmers from Gir brand ambassadors of their products and will chat with FM radio jockeys. We will make videos of the festival with sound byes of these farmers, their families and also customers and then upload it on Youtube. We will also do a Facebook live and engage our customers directly with the farmers through social media."The marketing techniques, training and resources will be provided by Gujarat Agribusiness Consortium Producers Company Ltd (GUJPRO). This company provides the farmers a platform in big cities like Ahmedabad. Last year the company helped farmers directly sell their kesar mangoes in Delhi.

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