Hapus or Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan region have been arriving in Pune’s Gultekdi market for the past few weeks, but supply remains thin and prices steep. Farmers warn that while the season is not without hope, the overall harvest this year is likely to fall well short of last year’s.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOAccording to mango traders, around 30 boxes are arriving daily at the Gultekdi market, mostly from Devgad taluka, with some supply also coming in from Ratnagiri district. Each box contains between four and six dozen mangoes. Traders said this modest start to the season is significantly lower than arrivals over the past two years.High pricesYuvraj Kachi, a trader at Gultekdi market, said the combination of low supply and strong demand has pushed prices to their highest levels in recent years.“Compared to the last two years, supply is significantly less, and consequently, the market rate is the highest we have seen in the same period,” he said.“A single box of Alphonso is currently retailing between Rs 10,000 and Rs 18,000, depending on grading, the quality and size of the fruit, which ranges from 170 gm to 300 gm per mango. On a per-dozen basis, buyers are looking at Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000,” Kachi told The Indian Express.He expects arrivals to pick up from around March 10, but warned that prices are likely to remain elevated and could peak further around Gudi Padwa, when demand typically surges.Also Read | Mango mania: 5 must-read summer reads that celebrate the King of FruitsWeather takes a tollThe low supply has been attributed to erratic weather conditions that disrupted mango trees across the entire Konkan belt.Story continues below this adAnand Marathe, a mango farmer from Rajapur taluka in Ratnagiri district, said that while rainfall last year was satisfactory, conditions that followed were unfavourable. “The temperature variations in the months after the rain were extreme,” he said. Cold nights combined with afternoon temperatures as high as 35 degrees Celsius created severe stress for the trees during the critical flowering stage.“This temperature variation pushed trees towards producing a higher ratio of male flowers relative to hermaphrodite (bisexual) flowers. Since only bisexual flowers can set fruit, fewer of them meant far fewer mangoes. Yield dropped. Fruit quality dropped alongside it,” Marathe said.Also Read | Beyond Alphonso: Why no mango compares to Indian varietiesMukund Joshi, secretary of the Hapus Amba Utpadak Vikreta Sahakari Sangh, a cooperative body representing growers and sellers from the Konkan region, said the damage was visible from the first flowering cycle itself.“The first round of flowering, which comes around the end of December, got blackened and was largely damaged. This also led to poor fruit setting in the second flowering,” Joshi said.He added that similar conditions were observed across Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar and Thane – effectively the entire Alphonso-growing Konkan region of Maharashtra. “The prolonged rains followed by sharp diurnal temperature swings disrupted the trees’ metabolic balance during the most sensitive reproductive stages,” he said.Story continues below this adThere is, however, cautious optimism. “We are hopeful that the third flowering, which generally comes around mid-March, will be good. That can offer a reasonable supply in April and May. But it is clear that the overall supply situation this year remains worrying for growers,” Joshi said.Marathe also said supply from Ratnagiri would increase after the second week of March, but would still remain considerably lower than last year.GI tag checkWith genuine Alphonso mangoes scarce and prices high, Marathe flagged what he described as a “major issue” in the market – mangoes from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka being sold under the Alphonso GI label.“These regions grow delicious mangoes, but they are distinct from the genuine, GI-tagged Alphonso from the Konkan region. Labelling them as Alphonso and selling them at premium rates is misleading consumers,” he said, urging buyers to check the GI (Geographical Indication) numbers printed on boxes before making a purchase.