mango Konkan region Market Yard Konkan The city’slovers will have to shell out a lot more this year to get a taste of the heavenly delight. Shortage of supply from the, where they are sourced from, is the reason behind this rise in price.The cost of the Alphonso variety, the most popular one, has almost doubled this year. Traders and agriculture experts blame the weather conditions for the shortage of supply.“About 40 per cent of the supply has been hit this year,” said Balraj Bhosale, a trader atin Gultekdi area. He also said that around the same time last year, the supply was much more and costs lower.“The shortage of the Alphonso mangoes has resulted in the prices getting increased at least by Rs 2,000 per crate. A crate consists of four dozen mangoes. The current rates are anywhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 per crate, depending on the quality and the part of thebelt it comes from,” he added.Speaking to Mirror, Bhosale said that usually around this time, the city receives about 4,000 crates. However, so far only 1,200 crates of mangoes have come into Pune this season.Sharad Kunjir, another trader, said that these rates are applicable for raw, or green, mangoes. Once harvested, these mangoes take a week’s time to ripen in the boxes.“Last year, good-quality mangoes were at the most priced at Rs 5,000 for a crate. This time around, however, the prices have already shot up even before the season could reach its peak,” Kunjir said.He even added that the price hike has already had an adverse impact on the business. “Supply is expected to increase from second week of April. Until then, local markets will have to take ahit due to the paucity in stocks,” Kunjir said.“The supply has been badly hit for the month of March. There has been a shortage due to extended winters,” said Nathsaheb Khaire, mango and fruit commission agent at Market Yard.Khaire added that the flowering of the mango fruit was severely affected, which has, in turn, hampered the supply. “Three to four flowerings could not bear fruit as the temperatures continued to fluctuate,” he said.He further added that this resulted in pushing the season by a fortnight. “The shortage is expected to continue well into the months of April and May. Once the supply increases, the prices are likely to stabilise,” he added.Citing the same reasons, deputy general manager of Maharashtra State of Agriculture and Marketing Board, Bhaskar Patil, said, “The winters extended till late March this year. Both the day and night temperatures continued to remain on the lower side, which is not favourable for the mango plant to bear fruit.”Patil added that summers are getting warmer. “The soaring temperatures will help the fruit ripen faster. The supply will likely increase in the next two weeks,” he said.

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