If mango is the king of fruits, the fragrant, juicy and delicious Alphonso is, without any doubt, the king of kings. And today, the king of kings has reasons to preen. Alphonso Mango, also called "Hapus", from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and other adjoining areas in Maharashtra, finally got the GI tag.
One of the world's most popular fruit, Alphonso mangoes have generally been exported given its huge demand in international markets, leaving very little at a very high cost for the Indian lovers of the fruit. The Alphonso importing countries include Japan, Korea and Europe, and more recently the United States and Australia. The GI tag will be a booster dose for the rural economy, and the orchardists.
The first Indian product to get a GI tag was the Darjeeling tea, way back in 2004. There are, according to the government of India, a total of 325 products from the country, like the Tirupati Laddoo, Blue pottery from Jaipur and the Benarasi silk saree, that carry this indication.
