Alphonsoes from Devgad and Sindhudurg get GI tag

MUMBAI: Next time you go to buy alphonso mangoes, your fruit vendor is less likely to palm off just any variety by claiming it is ‘hapus’ from Sindhudurg or Devgad. The alphonsoes from Devgad and Sindhudurg have been given Geographical Indication (GI) tags. With this, the total number of GI-tagged products in Maharashtra has risen to 25, the highest in the country.
A GI tag specifies the geographical location—like a town, a region, or a country—where the product is created.Devgad Taluka Mango Growers Cooperative Society (DTMGCS), which had filed for a GI tag in 2012, said that the process was a long one but they have finally got a verbal order from the GI registry.
“Today, in the market, we hear a lot of people selling alphonso mangoes from other parts of the state and the country by falsely claiming that they are from Devgad; this will stop now. The GI tag would indicate that fruit’s uniqueness has been verified by an expert government committee. No one but farmers from Devgad can use the area name to sell their products now,” said Niranjan Dixit, advisor of DTMGCS, which comprises close to 650 mango growers from Devgad. Now-a-days, lot of mangoes from Karnataka are sold as Devgad alphonsoes, he added.
“Every mango grower in Sindhudurg can use the GI tag now. Action can now be taken against those selling mangoes by falsely claiming that they are from mangoes Sindhudurg and Devgad,” said an official.
“Now, it will be easier for us to know if we are paying for the right product. I don’t mind paying a bit more if I am guaranteed the original product,” said Kailash Shinde, a Matunga resident.