Surat: The famous Valsadi Hafooz or Alphonso has started arriving in market yards of Dharampur, Surat, Navsari and Valsad. Compared to previous year, this time around the mangoes have arrived much earlier, which means mango lovers in Surat and other places will get to savour the fruit in the next few days. If farmers are to be believed, mango production in south Gujarat is likely to be at least 15% higher this season compared to that of 2016 despite the heat wave dealing a severe blow to the mango crop.Sources said Valsadi Hafooz is priced between Rs1,000 per 20kg and Rs1,200 per 20kg in the wholesale market yards. Prices are likely to fall by the first week of May with the increase in volume. Mango production in Valsad is estimated to remain at 3.2 lakh metric tonne followed by 2.7 lakh metric tonne in Navsari and 95,000 metric tonne in Surat district."This season, mangoes have started arriving early in the markets of Valsad and Navsari. Generally, they start arriving only in the first week of May. People of Valsad and Navsari would be able to savour mangoes from April 25," said Dinesh Padaliya, deputy director, horticulture.Owner of Ajaji Farms, Jigar Desai, who cultivates organic jumbo Kesar variety, said, "This year, the flowering happened very early and now we are ready to pluck the first harvest. Most farmers have started plucking the fruits and are sending them to the market yards. The production of mangoes is little higher compared to that of the previous season."

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