An orchardist couple in Madhya Pradesh – Rani and Sankalp Parihar planted two mango saplings years ago. They had no idea that they would turn out to be the world’ s costliest mangoes. These mangoes are ruby coloured and are said to be a Miyazaki variety. It is also called an egg of the sun, these mangoes are sold at Rs 2.70 lakh per kilogram.
Last year, some thieves broke into their orchards and stole the mangoes after word broke out that they are the most expensive variety. The couple has now deployed the services of four guards and six dogs to take care of the mango trees.
According to Sankalp, when he was on his way to Chennai to buy some saplings, a man on the train offered him the saplings and asked him to take care of the plants like babies.He planted the saplings without knowing what variety of mangoes they would produce. He named the mangoes Damini after his mother. Only when he researched, he found out the real name. The couple say that many people have shown interest in buying the mangoes but they have decided not to sell them to anyone.
Miyazaki mangoes are grown in Japan’s Miyazaki city. Each mango weighs over 550 grams, are rich in antioxidants, beta carotene and folic acid.
