New Delhi: In a major boost to the export of mangoes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) launched an eight-day-long Mango Festival in the Kingdom of Bahrain on June 13 in association with the Indian Embassy and Al Jazira Group.

At the show, 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, are being displayed at eight different locations of Bahrain's Al Jazira group supermarket. 27 of these varieties have been procured from West Bengal, while two each variety are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and one variety from Uttar Pradesh. All the varieties of mangoes have been directly procured from farmers and two Farmer Producer Organizations. The mango show will continue till June 20, 2022.

The 27 different varieties of mango from West Bengal are Bhavani, Daud Bhog, Amrapali, Golapkhas, Rogni, Dilshad, Chatterjee, Bimli, Ratan Kewra, Mallika, Ananras, Sahebpas and, Kishen Bhog, Lakshman Bhog, Madhu Latika, Rasagolla, Dwarika, Raja Bhog, Amrit Bhog, Arajanma, Nilanjana, Rani Pasand, Rakhal Bhog, Desi Sundari, Langra, Himsagar and Khirsapati. Jharkhand’s Kamli and Biju, while Bihar’s Jardalu, which is a GI-tagged variety, and Langra are displayed at the Mango Festival in Bahrain. Odisha’s Benganpalli and Himsagar and Dusseri varieties of Uttar Pradesh are also at the show.

All the 34 varieties of Indian mangoes have been displayed at eight different stores of Al Jazira located at Hamala, Mahooz, Zing, Juffair, Budaiya, Adilya, Seef and Riffa in Bahrain. Besides, mangoes as a whole, several mango preparations like mango cake prepared in Al Jazira bakery, juices, different varieties of mango shakes, etc. have also been showcased at the festival.

The mango show in Bahrain is part of APEDA’s new initiatives to explore international markets for Indian mangoes under the ‘Mango Festival 2022’. It’s the outcome of APEDA’s commitment to provide a global platform for Indian mangoes that for the first time 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states have been showcased in Bahrain. On earlier occasions, mostly be mango varieties from Southern and western regions like Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli, etc were showcased in most of the global shows.

The Mango Festival was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Shri Piyush Srivastava in the presence of Al Jazira Group chairman Mr. Abdul Hussein Khalil Dawani. The Murshidabad district administration has facilitated the transportation of mangoes to Bahrain in coordination with APEDA.

Mango in India is also referred to as the ‘king of fruits' and referred to as Kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree) in ancient scriptures. While most of the states in India have mango plantations, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka have a major share in the total production of the fruit. Alphonso, Kesar, Totapuri and Banganpalli are leading export varieties from India. Mango exports primarily take place in three forms: fresh mango, mango pulp, and mango slice.

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