Australians will taste Kesar mangoes for the first time ever, Alphonso to follow

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ For the first time, Australia will sell ‘Kesar’ variety of Indian mangoes with the inaugural consignment of nearly 400 trays landing in Sydney, but marketing firms called it a “little disappointing” as the fruit was a little blemish and not evenly coloured.

The first consignment was received by Perfection Fresh Australia (PFA), Australia’s largest fresh-produce marketing company, after recently revised protocols that allowed Indian mango imports if the fruit was treated with irradiation prior to export.

“The first consignment, I’ve got to say, was a little disappointing,” PFA chief executive Michael Simonetta said, adding “the fruit had a little bit of blemish on the skin and wasn’t as evenly coloured as we expected it to be, so we’re in the process now of getting it to colour more evenly and then offer it for sale following that.”

“The eating quality is quite nice. It’s pleasant to eat. The feedback has been okay and the upside for me as a consumer is that it tastes better than the Mexican Keitt (mangoes) that are in the market as well at the moment,” he said.

The next consignment of Kesar mangoes will be sent to Perth next week while imports of Alphonso mangoes would also begin soon. “The variety I’m really excited about, is in a few week’s time we’ll bring in the Alphonso mango which is known as the king of mango,” he said.