Hapus mangoes, which have withstood natural calamities such as rain, cold, and heat, and were harvested from trees preserved by mustard, have now entered Mumbai's markets. On Tuesday, 100 boxes of hapus arrived in the Vashi market from Konkan. In the past three days, a total of 325 boxes of mangoes have been delivered, with 95% sourced from Devgad and the remaining 5% from Ratnagiri district.
On February 1, 175 boxes of mangoes were sold at the Vashi market. No mangoes were available for sale on Sunday due to the market's closure. However, 50 boxes were offered on Monday, and 100 boxes were sold on Tuesday. Currently, the price of a mango box ranges from Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000. The severe cold in December affected the mango trees, causing them to remain sealed, while the mustard plants stayed purely flowery but did not bear any fruit.
The mixed weather conditions, including cold, hot, and cloudy spells, led to outbreaks of ticks, thrips, and pest diseases, causing damage to many crops. In several areas, the seal turned black, and although some seals showed another fruit at their end, these too were lost due to the cold.
After tireless efforts from the gardeners, the surviving mangoes are now ready for harvest. To protect the mustard and the fruit from October, gardeners even had to tie tarpaulin sheets on the trees. Now, the mangoes that survived these challenging conditions are ready for sale. However, the quantity is limited, and the available mangoes have entered the Vashi market for sale.