Fazli mango growers are set to get new connoisseurs as a GI-certified consignment of the variety was exported to Bahrain from Bengal’s Malda district, the commerce ministry said on Saturday.
The GI tag helps growers get a premium price for the product as no other producer can use the name to market similar goods.
“In a major initiative which would boost mango exports from the eastern region, especially to the West Asian countries, a consignment of geographical identification (GI) certified Fazli mango variety sourced from Malda district was exported to Bahrain on Saturday. The consignment of Fazli mango was exported by APEDA-registered DM enterprises, Calcutta, and imported by Al Jazira group, Bahrain,” the ministry said.
In June, a week-long Indian mango promotion programme was organised in Bahrain where 16 varieties of the fruit, including the GI-certified Khirsapatin, Lakshmanbhog and Zardalu (Bihar) varieties, were displayed. Both Khirsapatin and Lakshmanbhog are from Bengal.
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 the leading export varieties from India. Other varieties that are exported include GI-certified Khirsapati, Lakkhanbhog, Amrapali and Chausa from Malda, Dusshheri from Malihabad in Uttar Pradesh and Langda from Nadiya in Bengal.
For the first time in this season, India recently shipped a consignment of GI-certified Banganapalli and other varieties of Survarnarekha mangoes sourced from farmers in Krishna and Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Mango is exported primarily in three forms: fresh fruit, pulp and mango slice.
A geographical indication (GI) tag is used for an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicraft and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness attributable to the place of its origin. Darjeeling tea, Tirupathi laddu, Kangra paintings, Nagpur orange and Kashmir pashmina are among the registered GIs in India.
