Are you buying smuggled mangoes?

The king of fruits is refusing to bid goodbye for the year without kicking up a fresh controversy. Although the mango season is all but over, it's a variety of mango from neighbouring Gujarat that has officials of Vashi's Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) up in arms.

The mangoes from Gujarat are being illegally sold in Mumbai

Angry APMC officials say farmers from Valsad in Gujarat have been bringing in truckloads of mangoes into Mumbai, claiming that these were mangoes grown in Dahanu. Consumers may just be smiling all the way back home from the market since farmers sell these mangoes at a relatively low rate, APMC officials are however, very unhappy.

According to a licence given by the state government, mangoes grown in areas like Bhiwandi, Dahanu, Palghar and Wada in Maharashtra can directly be sold to consumers so that both consumers as well as farmers can benefit from it. Speaking to SMD, Sanjay Pansare, director of the fruit market of APMC, said, "Around 100 trucks of the fruit have already made their way into the state and are being sold to consumers directly. We had complained to the government about it as well." He alleged that Dahanu and Palghar taken together barely had 100 mango trees so it was impossible to get 100 truckloads of mangoes from these districts.

Since these mangoes are not brought to the wholesale market, others, too, are suffering losses. Narendra Patil, leader of the Mathadi Kamgar Union said this unfair practice had also affected labourers at the market.