LUCKNOW: Dussehri -- a mango variety identified by its sweetness and typical fragrance, which leads the entire crop of the mango belt in Uttar Pradesh, is making its presence felt in West Asia as well.
As a part of its strategy to push the farm exports, the UP government has made the first consignment of 1,200 kg Dussehri mangoes (400 boxes, each weighing 3 kg) from Malihabad airlifted to Dubai.
Dispatched from Lucknow’s Mango Pack House to Dubai-based importer Vergro Trading LLC, the $2,992 consignment signals a new global opportunity for the State’s mango growers.
Malihabad, known for its fabled varieties of mangoes such as the Dussehri and Langda, is also home to families who have been a legacy of growing mango for 200 years or even more.
UP’s largest mango belt among the State’s 14 designated mango producing districts, Malihabad has 30,000 hectares of land under cultivation.
Under the Indo-German AMD Project, three Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) from the Lucknow region, especially the Malihabad belt, were trained and empowered for agricultural export.
Irada Farmers Producer Company Limited and Malihabad Farmer Producer Company Limited have secured direct export orders for Dussehri mangoes from Dubai.
This year marks the first time both FPOs are independently exporting mangoes, making it a historic milestone for the state’s mango growers.
According to the Geographical Indications Registry of India, Malihabadi Dussehri was given a Geographical Indications (GI) status in 2010.
“Mango exports from Uttar Pradesh are steadily rising. Our goal is to help mango farmers from the State establish a strong presence in the global market. The government is extending all necessary support in terms of production, packaging, and meeting international export standards,” said Horticulture Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh.