Two farmers accidentally grew the most expensive mangoes in the world.
Sankalp Singh Parihar was on a train when another passenger asked him if he wanted to buy a special mango sapling for $33 (Rs 2,500).
He wasn’t sure what mango breed it was but he agreed to buy it anyway. A few months later, he noticed something different about the fruits.
Parihar told Vice: “I did not know what the mango breed was but I named it Damini after my mother and planted it.
“I grew it [the sapling] like an ordinary mango plant, but a few months later, saw that it had developed a beautiful red color.”
When people heard about his mangoes, he said he received a huge offer for them.
“It was only when they offered me more than Rs 21,000 ($283) for it that I realised it was something valuable.”
They later discovered that what Parihar had bought from the fellow passenger on the train was Miyazaki mango, which have been known to sell for thousands in Japan. The fruit originates from the Miyazaki prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu and is being grown in special conditions.
“Since I did not know what breed these mangoes were, I grew them like I would grow any ordinary Indian variety like the alphonso,” Parihar said.
“My vision is that every Indian household should be able to afford this mango.”
“In Japan, it is expensive because it is grown in an expensive environment. In India, we can grow it naturally and cut down on expenses,” he added.
But growing such valuable fruit also comes with some dangers. Thieves broke into Parihar’s farm and stole over a dozen of Miyazaki mangoes.
Because of that, he hired a special security team to protect the rest.
“These are our babies and our focus right now is to keep nurturing them and using the fruits’ seeds to plant new ones,” he added.
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