Malda mangoes for Olympics

It is not just Indian wines which will be served in restaurants at the Olympic Village in London this summer. The ‘king of fruits’, Indian mango, will be part of the Olympic menu designed to enchant global sports persons and connoisseurs alike. Internationally famous mangoes from West Bengal's Malda district, an important element of the Indian fruit basket, is also going to be on offer at London restaurants during the games. Also likely to be included are lychees from Bengal and Bihar.
A city-based exporter has taken the initiative to export various varieties of mango from Malda, a source in the state Horticultural Department confided, without disclosing the name of the exporter and the quantity to be send out.
According to the source, the “Fazli variety from Malda was exported to London last year. It has a steady demand in London, especially among the Bengali community, both from India and Bangladesh.''
According to the Horticultural Department, the Malda basket will include Laxmanbhog, Amrapali, Himsagar and Gopalbhog  apart from Fazli. Of these, Laxamanbhog is usually unavailable in local markets and Amrapali and Himsagar are already off-the-shelf in West Bengal.
According to Malda’s Mango Development Officer Priyaranjan Sannigrahi, the state government is working hard to export Bengal’s varieties to the Olympic village. “A Kolkata-based exporter has already visited Mango orchards of Malda and booked his consignment. He has also visited stockyards and packaging houses and taken steps to export the mangoes to London.”
Strangely, mango exporters and traders in Malda are unaware of the development. Secretary of the Malda-based West Bengal Exporters’ Coordination Committee, Ujjwal Saha said, “Mango production has suffered a severe set back this year due to excessive heat and little rain. We have our commitment to export Mango to Dhaka while exporting to London is not profitable to us. If someone has taken the lead, we will welcome it.''