Kesar mangoes at Westgate Pak'nSave supermarket. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Indian mangoes are cheaper this season than they have been in recent years due to a fierce price war that has reportedly broken out among several retailers.
The price-cutting reports have soured what has a been a successful season so far, with mangoes from India on display at some stores under the umbrella of major chains such as Woolworths, Farro Fresh and Foodstuffs, which owns New World and Pak'nSave supermarkets.
Prasad Salaskar of Salient Enterprises, which imports and distributes Indian mangoes to retailers nationwide, had mixed feelings about the season to date.
"It is definitely heartening to see Indian mangoes being sold at major supermarkets this year," Salaskar said. "You can say we have achieved our goal of mainstreaming Indian mangoes in New Zealand.
"[But] we also saw a lot of price undercutting by Indian retailers this year. There were too many importers in markets, especially for the Kesar variety, which flooded the market.
"Ultimately some [retailers] resorted to selling the fruit below cost," he said. "This kind of price war doesn't help anyone. We have devalued our prime fruit ourselves."
Nirmal Pandey, who imports Indian mangoes under his Auckland-based brand Mango Bite, agreed.
"Our imports increased almost threefold this year," Pandey said.
"I was also happy to see the mainstreaming of Indian mangoes," he said.
"While some retailers did try to initiate price wars, I believe customers have become savvy too. They know and understand quality," he said.
"So even though we didn't reduce our prices to match their [prices], we still had a good season."
Salaskar said the price-cutting was particular to Auckland.
"I don't know how to prevent price undercutting in Auckland, where there is major competition among Indian retailers," he said. "But, for us, we aim to spread our distribution network across the country, collaborating with main-stream supermarkets."
Kesar mangoes at Westgate Pak'nSave supermarket. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Mango season in India usually starts in April and ends around mid-July once monsoon rain begins.
The retail price in New Zealand varies between $50 and $85 per carton (eight to 12 mangoes weighing three or four kilograms), with variety and timing affecting the cost.
Mangoes imported in April and July (at the start and end of the season) tend to be a little more expensive.
While Kesar remains the most popular variety of mango, others such as Langra, Dasheri, Chausa, Neelam, Malda, Banganpalli, Totapuri, Rajapuri, Sinduri and premium variety Alphonso have been increasing their market share every year.
While specific trade figures are not available for imported mangoes - the Ministry of Primary Industries categorises the fruit, dried or fresh, with guava and mangosteen - Hitesh Sharma, owner of Christchurch's Maia Foods, said his sales had increased by 20 percent this season.
"Moreover, the varieties we sold almost doubled," Sharma said.
Mangoes imported into New Zealand from India must meet requirements in the Import Health Standard and, as such, must go through fumigation at one of two approved facilities: the Maharashtra Agricultural Marketing Board vapour heat treatment facility in Mumbai and the Andhra Pradesh Agro Food facility in Tirupati near Chennai.
Salaskar was impressed with a noticeable improvement in logistics when handling the fruit this year.
"As a perishable product, logistics plays a very important role in importing mangoes here," he said. "We were able to reduce our wastage by half this year, which is always good."
Pandey said the future of mango imports looked good.
"We did some trial runs for a major retailer this year, and, hopefully, they will come on board too," he said.
"A couple more vapour treatment facilities may also be approved in future, which will further aid imports," he said.
"So, overall, things are looking bright for Indian mangoes in New Zealand year by year."
