With Alphonso mango prices skyrocketing, a city seller is providing the king of fruits on Equated Monthly Instalments, or EMI. Why not mangoes if refrigerators and air conditioners can be purchased in installments, says Gaurav Sanas of Gurukripa Traders and Fruit Products.
The best Alphonso or 'Hapus' mangoes from Devgad and Ratnagiri are currently selling for Rs 800 to 1300 a dozen in the retail market. Sanas informed that his family's business is the first in the country to offer mangos on EMI.
"Prices are always very high at the beginning of the season." We reasoned that since refrigerators, air conditioners, and other equipment can be purchased on EMI, why not mangoes? "Everyone can afford mangoes at that point," he explained.
The process for purchasing fruit on EMI at his store is similar to that of purchasing a cell phone in installments.
Alphonso is a tiny, egg-shaped fruit with mellow tropical flavour and a powerful scent. This fruit was named after Afonso de Albuquerque, a Portuguese general and military expert who helped create a Portuguese colony in India.
The customer must use a credit card, and the purchase price is divided into three, six, or twelve monthly installments. However, the scheme requires a minimum purchase of Rs 5,000. So far, four customers have taken advantage of the program, according to Sanas.
