Three traders fined for selling mango claiming false origin

Three traders in Market Yard, Pune were fined ₹5,000 each for selling Karnataka Hapus mango in the name of Devgad and Ratnagiri.

In the last three weeks, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Market yard collected a fine of ₹17, 700 from traders in similar cases of mango fraud.

“We are continuing our raids every day and after seizing, the mangoes are confiscated by APMC and auctioned at gate No 1. The traders were selling 10-kilogram boxes for ₹11,800 when the actual price of Karnataka Hapus is ₹8,100,” said Madhukant Garad, administrator and secretary APMC Gultekdi Market Yard Pune.

The APMC have warned traders of facing legal punishment if the same type of trading continues.

“The mangoes are packed in a box which has a label in Marathi which reads as ‘Ratnagiri Hapus Mango’ which confuses the buyers who believe the mangoes are from Ratnagiri. Traders claim that the farmers in Karnataka are at fault who are packing their mangoes with a label of Ratnagiri. We will continue our inquiry in the coming days as well,” said Garad.

The APMC is also investigating whether traders are arranging boxes from Ratnagiri to pack the mangoes.

“Every year some traders which are not regular in the Market Yard try to fool buyers and it is a wrong practice. Old traditional sellers do not fall into this type of business,” said Vilas Bhujbal, president, Market Yard Commission Agents.