As the summer ushers in the mango season, demand for organic mangoes (from orchards that don’t use pesticides to tackle inspects and chemicals to accelerate the ripening process and pesticides for the trees) are on the rise.
This has resulted in traders selling these mangoes at Rs 1,400 a dozen, while regular ones fetch Rs 1,000.
Ajay Vaishnav, a trader, said that the demand for organic mangoes has picked in the last three years.
People have become conscious about the ill-effects of calcium carbide that is used for ripening the fruits. Some orchards owners are making efforts to get certified from international agencies for organic mangoes, he said.
Amrita Kasbekar, Partner at Sankalp Farms near Pune that has over 10,000 mango trees, said ripening agents such as calcium carbide are known to be carcinogenic.
It is this awareness, which is weaning people away from the regular mangoes, she said.
The farm, spread over 170 acres, manages to produce about three lakh organic mangoes a year. The farm has also got organic certification from the French agency ECOCERT.
“We extensively use Neem as a fungicide and cow dung as manure. For insects, we use pheromone traps,” Kasbekar said. A pheromone trap is one that uses hormones to lure insects.
A number of corporate houses such as TCS and Star network are allowing stalls to be set up in their office premises for sale of organic mangoes.
Dr Vivek Bhide, an expert who is also on the committee for constituting mango and cashew board in Maharashtra, said that it is still early days for organic mangoes to make a mark in the market. “What we require is research and development facilities that can help organic farming,” he said.