JAIPUR: If you are a mango lover and desperately waiting for its arrival, you need to pay more this season. The ongoing tussle of using or not using chemicals and other factors like the recent spell of rain and hailstorm have affected the supply of various varieties of mangoes at the Mohana wholesale Mandi in Jaipur. Wholesalers have indicated a rise of up to 30% in the wholesale and retail prices of various varieties of mango.

Wholesale traders of the Mohana Mandi on Monday said that they were already getting less supply of the mangoes including Sinduri, Safeda and Hafoos and this is the reason why the wholesale prices have risen.

“Right now we are getting Safeda, Sinduri and Hafoos varieties which are costlier compared to the previous years. The wholesale price of Safeeda, commonly used in the shakes, is Rs 65 to Rs 70 which is selling at Rs 80 to Rs 100 in retail,” said Radheyshyam Phatak, president of Rajasthan Phal Sabzi Thok Mahasangh while talking to TOI on Monday.

He added that so far only three varieties of the mangoes are available in the market as other varieties such as Dusserri, Langra and Chausa from Uttar Pradesh are yet to arrive. “I think the recent spell of dust storm, rain and hailstorm has damaged the crop in Uttar Pradesh. These varieties will possibly arrive in the city in the last week April or first week of May onwards,” he added.

He said that Safeda is coming from Hyderabad and the farmers are in a tussle with the government. “The government has warned them not to use any chemicals while packing the boxes of mangoes to be sent to other states while farmers are not ready since they fear the fruit might get damaged. Usually, they pack a semi-ripe fruit and put some chemicals into it so that when it reaches a particular state or city it becomes ready to eat, but this time it is not happening. Due to this we have crunch of these varieties of mango so far,” he added.