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Successful mango mela in Bengaluru sees 500 tonnes sold: Report
The recent mango festival at Lalbagh Botanical Garden witnessed farmers selling around 500 tonnes of mangoes.
At the recent three-week mango mela held at Bengaluru's Lalbagh Botanical Garden, farmers accomplished a remarkable feat by selling approximately 500 tonnes of mangoes, The Hindu reported. With over 100 farmers participating from various regions of Karnataka, the festival boasted more than 50 stalls, showcasing an extensive variety of mangoes.
The Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Limited (KSMDMCL), the event organizer, expressed satisfaction with this year's turnout, noting a significant improvement compared to the previous edition. Notably, the festival featured the prized Kari Ishad mango variety, distinguished by its Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
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KSMDMCL Managing Director C G Nagaraju spoke to reporters on the matter and said, “The sales during Mango Mela depend on how many weekends we get in Lalbagh. This time, 13 – 14 varieties of mangoes were sold, and farmers were very happy.”
“The farmers who brought Kari Ishad were very happy with the response. While there was not much demand for this variety earlier, these days interest has gone up, even in Bengaluru. The farmers replenished their stocks three times during the mela,” he added as quoted by the publication.
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In an effort to broaden market accessibility, the Mango Board also introduced significant enhancements to its online sales platform, 'Karsiri,' encouraging direct purchases from farmers via India Post. Presently, 27 farmers offer a diverse selection of 13 mango varieties, including the esteemed Kari Ishad, through this platform, the report said.
“We have sold 4,514 boxes (13.5 tonnes) of mangoes on the portal, and we have received 60 – 70 orders for Kari Ishad. Apart from our platforms, farmers from different parts of Karnataka have come up with 14 such portals where they are directly selling mangoes to customers via India Post,” Nagaraju further stated.
