Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jun 16:

Odisha grown mangoes have tickled the sweet tooth of Delhites; the king of fruits from the land of Jagannath has been in great demand in the national capital market this year.

mangoes

Odisha mangoes, especially Amrapalli, Mallika and Dussehri, have been disappearing fast from the shelves of fruit and vegetable stores across Delhi. The wide varieties of Odisha mangoes sold at Safal stores, the Fruit & Vegetable business initiative of Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd, are leaving mangoes procured from other parts of the country far behind.

“The mangoes transported from Odisha have an edge over those coming from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states keeping in view their taste and price. The Odisha mangoes are having good demand here in Delhi,” Pradipta Kumar Sahu, Business Head of Safal said.

Last year, Odisha mangoes entered the Delhi and NCR region on an experimental basis. Due to overwhelming response, considerable amount of mango consignments are being sent to Delhi from various parts of the state to meet the requirements this year, he said.

“At least 150 tonnes of mangoes from Mayurbhanj, Gajapati and Dhenkanal districts have been sent to Delhi through rail network. For proper packaging and conservation of the perishable good, training was imparted to the farmers,” Sahu added.

Besides, the fruit and vegetable chain is planning to procure vegetables from Odisha to be sold in Delhi and NCR region in Safal outlets.

“There as as many as 400 Safal stores in Delhi and NCR region. Vegetables like brinjal, parwal, lady’s finger and green chilly would be procured from Odisha and sold in these stores soon. We are chalking out the modalities and an MoU would be signed with the airport authorities for faster transportation of these items,” Sahu informed.

Notably, vegetables are being supplied to Delhi from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh by Jet Airways and Air India airlines.