Indian Mangoes Arrive in Seattle Retail Chains

Washington, May 16 (PTI) The sweet aroma of the 'Kesar' variety of Indian mangoes is wafting through select stores in Seattle, tickling the taste buds of food connoisseurs.

A year-long initiative by the Indian Consulate General in Seattle paved the way for several varieties of Indian mangoes to be available at retail chains such as 'Costco'.

The story of Indian mangoes in the US dates back to 2006, when then US President George W Bush cleared the way for shipping the fruit to American shores-news welcomed as enthusiastically as the marquee announcement of working toward the India-US civil nuclear deal.

India's Consul General in Seattle, Prakash Gupta, spoke about Indian mangoes on a special segment of "Good Day Seattle" on Fox 13 News and brought a wide variety of the fruit for tasting in the TV studio.

"We believe these are already in some of the local Indian grocery stores. The bigger ones, like Costco outlets in Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond and the Greater Seattle area, are likely to have it by the end of this weekend," Gupta said.

He outlined the Consulate's year-long efforts to introduce the different mango varieties to locals in Seattle and the surrounding areas.


Last year, the Consulate organised tasting events featuring premium varieties including Dasheri, Chausa, Kesar and Langra to introduce local consumers and distributors to the fruit.

"Subsequently, we worked with a lot of local groceries, deliveries, and big US retailers to see if they could also get them tasted here by local people," Gupta said. 

"And I am very happy to say that after one year of effort, we will now have all kinds of Indian mangoes, beginning with Kesar, in Seattle starting this weekend," he said.

The US had banned mango imports from India due to the presence of the mango seed weevil, a pest absent in North America. 

A solution emerged in January 2006, when the Agriculture Department allowed the imports of produce treated with low doses of irradiation. 

The first batch of Indian Alfonso mangoes was received with great enthusiasm and presented to the then US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

A three-kg box of Kesar mangoes is available for USD 50 plus taxes on online stores.