AAM-ERICA We have a new king: America becomes India’s highest export mango market; Kesar’s top Alphonso
This matches the other three umphs. In the freshman category – excluding dry slices and pulp – Kesar’s exports to the United States were worth $4.63 million, beating Alphonso in the first nine months of the last fiscal year, which had exports worth about $2.85 million.
Banganapalli is the breed Andhra Pradesh famous for its requests – aroma and fiber-free pulp, ranked third with an export value of $1.43 million – Lion. Other mango varieties on the list of Indian exports to the United States include Popu -Lar Langda, Dasheri, Chausa, Totapuri and Mallika.
Kesar not only conquered the United States. This is just the latest step in its global domination, two years of history. Although Alfonso grew primarily on the Ratnagiri belt in Maharashtra, it is a long and long past, and as the past of Manchampagne, Kesar has now led the world’s trade sales. Kesar surpassed Alphonso as India’s most exported Mango for the first time in fiscal 201024. That year, Kesar’s export value was $11.25 million, while Alphonso, worth $8.68 million. In addition to us and the UAE, other outstanding destinies of Indian Mango include Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Kuwait, Oman and the Netherlands.
Human behavior towards towns
Kesar’s rapid growth in exports to the United States is not the story of AAM. Exporters are favored by exporters for their longer shelf life and stronger builds. They added a reason for Kesar’s growing sales – the pregnancy of Gujarat diaspora.
HO -Telier Jayesh Patel in Louisiana owns a Kesar Farm in Sisodra, Navsari district of Gujarat. The 72-year-old left his village in the early 1970s and returned every year to spend months caring for his 5,000+ Kesar trees. Patel hopes the world enjoys his childhood favorite mangoes, such as Kesar, to the United States, and offers them at large expatriate events, including features held in Indian businesses in late San Francisco.
“Many sets of Gujaratis – with sweet childhood memories in the United States – Ing Kesar. They make up most of our customers.” said Hiren Ahir, founder of Kashi Export and founder of the leading mango exporter in Gujarat, Gujarat, adding that there are several Ex-Porter who has been working hard among Alphonso loyalists in the United States, who have been working.
“Alfonsos is too subtle, and we face a lot of problems while exporting them,” Aishier said, noting that Kesar’s resilience and longer shelf life make it more suitable for international markets.
Patel was once the chairman of the Best Western International Hotel chain, and his family runs several hotels in the United States. “Since the pandemic on the 19th, Americans have become increasingly health-conscious, and that’s my chance to see mineral-rich Indian mangoes,” he said, Kesar wins because of its flavor. “Once someone tastes it, they’ll come back more. The staff at my hotel, mostly Mexicans and Caribbeans, have already tasted Kesar. They’re looking for Indian mangoes now, even if they’re nearly three times the price of the Mexican variety.”
Although U.S. President Donald Trump has often attracted attention on tariffs with India, the two countries that are currently negotiating bilateral trade agreements, the United States has promoted Indian mangoes and pomegranates. Both fruits were mentioned in particular in the India-U.S. joint statement issued in February. “India appreciates the measures taken by the United States to enhance Indian mango and pomegranate exports to the United States,” the statement said.
Cost barriers
Despite this diplomatic goodwill, Indian mangoes have encountered major obstacles in the U.S. market, and the cost is a huge obstacle. Ahir of Kashgar Exports said that pre-freight-bonds account for 60-65% of the retail price of mangoes in the United States, making affordability continue to grow.
“We went from Gujarat to the U.S. retail shelves farm to the shuttle schedule for about five days,” he said. The journey began at the farm and continued to his facility in Tapi Kalakva, where the mangoes were treated with hot water soaking. They are then packaged in a refrigerated truck and shipped to Navi Mumbai for radiation. Here, the fruit is exposed to controlled radiation to eliminate pests and enhance shelf life. This is a mandatory professional for exporting mangoes to the United States.
“U.S. officials stationed in the radiation facility inspect each cargo, draw samples and clear batches (400 packs at a time, for air freight),” Aishier said. The irradiation process for a pack of three mangoes is priced at Rs 150. “In retail stores in the United States, the same pack of three mangoes costs about $35-40.”
Mumbai exporter, who asked to be anonymous, said transporters-going exporters to the United States could be a “logistical challenge” in financial status. “Once the mango packaging is packed in a refrigerated truck, the vehicle can be on the way to the irradiation facility and the vehicle will not be used for any other destination. It must be sealed and certified in accordance with standard protocols.”
He said exporting to the UAE is much simpler by comparison. “There is no such condition. The process is faster and the problem is smaller.” Exporters traded in Alphonso, Kesar, Badami and Rajapuri varieties, and he said the mangoes are bound to the Gulf countries and shipped by sea, with shipping time of about a week.
There is a new competitor in the Mango battle – age. “Yemeni men – going to Dubai and elsewhere is starting to get attention. They are cheaper than Indian mango bargaining,” Mumbai exporter said. One of the popular Yemeni mango varieties in the UAE is Taimoor.
In the United States, the rise of Indian mango exports comes after a bumpy ride. In 2020 and 2021, inspectors at the USDA were unable to access India during the pandemic to prove that the fruits are free of pests and diseases, so the cargo of fresh mangoes was suspended. Similar obstacles emerged earlier in Europe, when the EU banned the import of Alphonso mangoes from May 2014 to December 2015, citing fruit flies found in several cargoes.
In the United States, fresh mango exports have resumed in 2022 after two years of vacation. India’s timely approval of the USDA for mango cargo – Alphonso’s priority list. “As part of the common agreement, India will be able to export mangoes to the United States during the mango season, starting in March, starting with various mangoes,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on January 11, 2022.
Kesar’s rapid rise is surprising. During the 2020-21 pandemic year, Kesar exports were worth less than half of Alphonso ($2.92 million, while $6.08 million – the Lion). But over the next three years, Kesar’s global exports in USD rose 285%, causing Alphonso to overthrow.
Early data from FY25 suggests that the Gulf will expand: Alphonso only charged $66 for $100 earned through Kesar exports in the first nine months of the fiscal year. In the U.S. market alone, Kesar’s ratio was 100:61 during the same period.
Inspired by strong demand and support from exporters, Kesar reshaped the pecking and picking order of Indian mango exports, i.e., Global-Allies and the United States. With its golden color and rich aroma, it has become a new royalty for the Indian mango trade.
