APEDA Organises 8-Day Mango Festival In Bahrain

A total of 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, are being displayed at eight different stores of Al Jazira group supermarket at , Mahooz, Zing, Juffair, Budaiya, Adilya, Seef and Riffa in Bahrain as a part of eight-day Mango Festival—launched by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in association with the Indian Embassy and Al Jazira Group.

In the event which is scheduled to conclude on 20^th June, 27 varieties of mangoes have been procured from West Bengal, while two each variety are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and one variety from Uttar Pradesh. All the varieties of mangoes have been directly procured from farmers and two Farmer Producer Organisations.

The 27 different varieties of mango from West Bengal include Bhavani, Daud Bhog, Amrapali, Golapkhas, Rogni, Dilshad, Chatterjee, Bimli, Ratan Kewra, Mallika, Ananras, Sahebpas and, Kishen Bhog, Lakshman Bhog, Madhu Latika, Rasagolla, Dwarika, Raja Bhog, Amrit Bhog, Arajanma, Nilanjana, Rani Pasand, Rakhal Bhog, Desi Sundari, Langra, Himsagar and Khirsapati. Jharkhand’s Kamli and Biju, while Bihar’s Jardalu, which is a GI-tagged variety, and Langra are displayed at the Mango Festival in Bahrain. Odisha’s Benganpalli and Himsagar and Dusseri varieties of Uttar Pradesh are also at the show.

Besides, mangoes as a whole, several mango preparations like mango cake prepared in Al Jazira bakery, juices, different varieties of mango shakes have also been showcased at the festival. The mango show in Bahrain is part of APEDA’s new initiatives to explore international markets for Indian mangoes under the ‘Mango Festival 2022’.

It’s the outcome of APEDA’s commitment to provide a global platform for Indian mangoes that for the first time 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states have been showcased in Bahrain. On earlier occasions, mostly mango varieties from Southern and western regions like Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli, were showcased in most of the global shows.

The Festival was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Piyush Srivastava in the presence of Al Jazira Group chairman Abdul Hussein Khalil Dawani. The Murshidabad district administration has facilitated the transportation of mangoes to Bahrain in coordination with APEDA.

Mango in India is also referred to as the ‘king of fruits’ and referred to as Kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree) in ancient scriptures. While most of the states in India have mango plantations, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka have a major share in the total production of the fruit. Alphonso, Kesar, Totapuri and Banganpalli are leading export varieties from India. Mango exports primarily take place in three forms: fresh mango, mango pulp, and mango slice.

India produces some of the best varieties of mangoes in the world. As a leading producer of mangoes with a production volume of 19.57 Mn tonnes, roughly spread across 2.2 Mn hectares, the industry is largely operated by 76 per cent smallholder and marginal farmers contributing 30-40 per cent to their income.

In June, 2021, a week-long Indian mango promotion programme was organised in Bahrain where 16 varieties of the fruit including three GI certified Khirsapati and Lakshmanbhog (West Bengal), Zardalu (Bihar) were displayed.