Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], June 10 : World's most expensive mango 'Miyazaki' priced at around Rs 2.75 lakh per kg in the International market was showcased in the seventh edition of Siliguri's three-day-long Mango Festival.
The festival kicked off on June 9 at a mall in Siliguri organised by Modella Caretaker Centre & School (MCCS), with Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT).
More than 262 varieties of mangoes will be displayed at the festival and 55 growers from nine districts of West Bengal participated in the festival.
Some of the varieties on display are Alphonso, Langra, Amrapali, Suryapuri, Ranipasand, Laxmanbhog, Fajli, Bira, Sindu, Himsagar, Kohitoor and others.
Sandy Acharya, a mango lover from Siliguri said that he got a chance to witness so many varieties of mangoes in a single platform.
He further said that he got to witness the world's most expensive mango 'Miyazaki' at the festival. It was so nice to know that the Bengal farmers are growing this mango in their gardens, he added.
Shoukat Hussein, a Miyazaki farmer from Labhpur in West Bengal's Birbhum district said that he was participating in the festival for the first time and he brought the Miyazaki variety to the festival.
He added that he got the drafting saplings from Bangladesh and planted them in his garden in Birbhum.
"Received positive response with the huge production. It can be grown in any part of the state and change the economic condition of the farmers", he added.
Raj Basu, Convenor, ACT and co-partner of the Mango festival said that they have displayed more than 262 varieties of mangoes, of them Miyazaki was the major attraction of the festival.
"People are flocking around the mango and we received huge queries. They want to promote tourism through the festival. The association has appealed to UNESCO to declare Sompur Paharpur Mahavihara in Bangladesh-Darjeeling Himalayan Railway(DHR) corridor as the mango heritage corridor or Intunjable Cultural Heritage soon", Basu added.
The Miyazaki mango production was started in California in the year of 1940. Later it was brought into Japan's Miyazaki city and thus got its name Miyazaki mango.
Recently Indian growers mostly from Bengal have started growing the variety in their gardens. It is also known as 'Red Sun' and in Bengali 'Surja Dim' (Red egg). The mango is popular for its nutrients, taste, colour and sugar content.
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