Why Is the First Mango of the Season So Expensive?

Why the first boxes of Alphonso mangoes or first-flush tea fetch sky-high prices, and why prices tumble weeks later, explained with supply, demand and novelty.

Every spring, news reports describe the first boxes of Alphonso mangoes arriving at wholesale markets in Mumbai and Pune and selling for eye-watering prices, sometimes many thousands of rupees a dozen. A few weeks later, the same mangoes are sold on street carts for a fraction of that price. What changed?

Tiny supply, eager buyers

At the very start of the season, only a small quantity of fruit is ripe. Supply is very limited. Meanwhile, some buyers are extremely keen:

Mango lovers who have waited all year.
Families buying the first fruit for festivals such as Gudi Padwa or as gifts.
Restaurants and sweet shops wanting to advertise the first mangoes.

When supply is small, the price is set by the buyers with the highest willingness to pay. Only they buy.

Supply floods in

As the season progresses, orchards across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh ripen together. Supply rises sharply. To sell all the fruit, prices must fall until ordinary buyers are willing to purchase. By peak season, mangoes are affordable to most households.

Perishability

Mangoes cannot be stored for long. Sellers must sell quickly or lose the fruit. So when supply is abundant, prices can fall a lot, since holding stock is not an option.

Novelty and prestige

The first fruit also has novelty value. Some buyers pay extra simply to be first, and ceremonial auctions of the first box can fetch high prices partly for publicity.

Not just mangoes

First-flush Darjeeling tea, picked in spring, fetches premium prices at auctions.
New-season vegetables and fruits, such as early strawberries.
Early releases of phones, games or films command higher prices before discounts.

Firms use this idea deliberately, charging more at launch and cutting prices later, a strategy called price skimming.

A consumer tip

If you are patient, waiting a few weeks for peak season usually brings better prices and often better-tasting fruit.

The Vashi market

In early March, a trader at a wholesale market in Navi Mumbai receives a few hundred boxes of Alphonsos and sells them quickly at very high prices to eager buyers. By early May, thousands of trucks arrive daily, and the price per dozen falls to a small fraction of the March level.

Thinking early fruit costs more because it is better

Early prices mostly reflect limited supply and eager buyers, not higher quality. Peak-season fruit is often just as good or better.

Key takeaways

At the start of a season, tiny supply meets buyers with the highest willingness to pay.
As supply floods in, prices fall so that ordinary buyers will purchase.
Perishability forces sellers to sell quickly when supply is abundant.
Firms use similar price skimming for new products.