Mango rates go up this summer

BANGALORE: Like the city’s temperature, the prices of Mangoes are also soaring.As of now, a small quantity of mangoes have arrived in the market but the prices are beyond the reach of the common man. Varieties of mango that never crossed Rs 50 per kg, have now crossed Rs 100.Untimely rains coupled with other problems have affected the mango production this year. Every year, vendors get mangoes from Bangalore and surrounding areas and the produce is so high, that mango traders are forced to hold Mela’s.But it is a different scenario this year as the mango production is less than 50 per cent than previous years.“Mango produce this time is very low, which has forced us to link the scarcity with demand, leading to high rates.The rates are 70 per cent higher than last year,” said Shawnaz Khan, a fruit vendor at Russel Market.Mohammed Idrees Choudry, a fruit merchant and Russell Market Traders Association General Secretary said that unexpected rains during the flowering season damaged the crop.