Mancurad mangoes still out of the Goan's reach

The "Mancurad" mango or the "Malcorada" mango or even the "Malcurad" mango as is commonly known in Goa is one and the same alright, but addressed differently. Just like a rose by any other name smells as sweet, so does this breed of Goa's King of mangoes. However, all names are currently out of the reach of the common Goencar, or the common Goan, or better still from the "Aam Aadmi".

The Mancurad mango has always been known to be the most delicious variety of mangoes and have always been in high demand among Goans due to which their rates at the beginning of the mango season go as high as Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 per dozen which is not affordable for the common man with each mango priced at around Rs 100.

At the peak of the mango season, the rates are known to be around 100 per dozen in the last few years in Goa. However this year looks to be sadly different from the previous years. Climate change seems to be the real villain playing spoilsport with the most dear fruit that Goans do not like to miss at this time of the year.

The fear is that the prices of Mancurad which are currently at around 400 - 450 per dozen may remain to be out of the reach of the aam aadmi for the rest of the summer. The blame is pointed towards a poor crop which is a dismal 25% of the average production, which has raised the possibility of its price not falling much lower than its current Rs 400 per dozen.

High quality Mancurad are still commanding a price of around 600 per  dozen and this year, the variety was priced at Rs 2000/- per dozen in the city of Margao, at the start of the season. This year therefore, the prices are unlikely to see any drop below Rs 200 - 250 per dozen  due to the bad crop.

The regions of Fatorpa, Balli and Molkornem are traditionally known to yield a bumper crop of Mancurad mangoes but this year, the produce is 30% less than last year.

The agricultural department of the state put the bad crop down to the fewer number of cold winter days this year compared to previous years. The intensity of the cold days helps in the flowering of the mangoes and the climactic variations have therefore led to a damage to the crops. It is believed that if the cold spell in January had sustained for a couple of extra weeks then the produce could have been reasonably higher.