Mango fest concludes; 90 tonnes of fruit sold

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the ten-day National Mango Festival organised by the State Horticulture Mission here came to an end on Sunday here, around 90 tonnes of mango varieties got sold off. Among the nearly 120 varieties that were showcased at the fest, it was ‘Himapasand’ from Kanyakumari that stole the show this time. ‘Mallika’ from Karnataka too was a big hit with visitors. Around ` 52 lakh - ` 75 lakh sales were carried out in the last ten days. The Horticulture Mission had joined hands with Kerala Mango Growers’ Association to hold the exhibition, that saw some 90,000 consumers turning up to taste the mangoes at the fest held on Kanakakkunnu grounds.  ‘’The main highlight was of course that we were able to keep away middlemen and ensure fresh non-toxic mangoes to so many consumers at one place. Since they were naturally grown, there was no calcium carbide or other chemicals added,’’ said Ajaichandra, project officer, Horticulture Mission.  The weekends saw some 5,000 more families dropping in at the venue. While there were allegations that loads of spoiled mangoes were dumped on the premises of the event, officials said that mangoes cut for samples might have been dumped. But they were removed  immediately. And since there was such a huge turnout, the waste was obviously more.  However, some visitors to the fest said that  flies sticking on to the fruits was testimony to the fact that the mangoes were not toxic. ‘’That they get spoiled means they have not been injected with chemicals,’’ said a visitor.  For the first time, the Mission had arranged an interaction with mango growers and mango traders, which benefited both groups. The meeting was arranged so as to develop marketing tie-ups in mango farming and sales.  The Mission would also be sending 10 farmers from Palakkad to Lucknow, which is more advanced in post-mango harvesting and value-addition of mango products. The exposure visit has already been sanctioned by the Mission.  According to officials, the fest, which has completed its two years, has also succeeded in taking the mango varieties to the public, especially the new generation.