Headline: Indian flavours for Britain, this time it's free mangoes By: Sanjay Suri (IANS) Source: Hindustan Times 11 May at http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/110502/dlfor23.asp
London, May 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a deluge of Bollywood and cricket from India, London residents are in for a tangy treat -- they are due to eat about five tonnes of free mangoes by this weekend. The mangoes have been brought over by India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to promote the fruit to coincide with the promotion of Bollywood films and cricket already under way. "We are distributing the mangoes to several upmarket Indian restaurants and to the Selfridges department store," APEDA secretary DB Sabbarwal told IANS. Under the promotion, APEDA is distributing about 400-500 kg of mangoes to Selfridges, which is hosting a Bollywood festival, and to 11 Indian outlets that will be offering mangoes free to customers until May 12. The four-day promotion began May 9. "Some of the restaurants are also making special mango dishes and serving them complimentary to customers to promote Indian mangoes," Sabbarwal said. But it is Selfridges that has made the most of the mango delivery. They got about half a tonne of mangoes free from APEDA, but instead of distributing freely, decided to sell them. The fruit, mostly Alphonso mangoes, are being sold by the store at £1.25 each. But APEDA has no plans to charge Selfridges for the mangoes it gave them for free. "The idea had been free distribution to promote the mangoes," Sabbarwal said. That Selfridges chose to sell them "is still promotion of Indian mangoes." The mango promotion is part of a promotion of Indian food in Britain, Reena Pandey, commercial counsellor in the Indian High Commission in London, said at the launch of the mango festival Thursday. "Of every one pound spent on food in Britain 30 pennies are spent on curry," she said. "We'll be very happy to see those pennies go further." APEDA has already held mango festivals in Dubai, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Kuwait. After London, APEDA will launch its last mango festival of the season in the German city of Frankfurt. Europe is the second biggest market for Indian mangoes after the United Arab Emirates. About 10,000 tonnes of Indian mangoes are sold in the European Union every year. That's too little, APEDA believes. Britain has been identified as a promising market to boost sale of exotic mangoes from India. By exotic is meant fibreless mangoes, Sabbarwal said. India produces about half the world's mangoes. World production is about 10 million tonnes a year. ==================== Alphonso mangoes are currently selling at about £6 a dozen. A meal at an upmarket restaurant costs at least £20 per head. Hardly worth going there especially for a free mango. Nor is it worth buying them from Selfridges. On the other hand we can discuss if they should be called Alphonse! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
