Sorry to keep you in suspense by not ending this mango saga sooner. I sold this story to the L.A. Times, and wanted to avoid any rights conflicts with them. Read about it on page three of today’s Food section, or for a limited time, on the Times website (free registration required).

From a business standpoint, 2007 was a trial run for all parties in the supply chain, and they smartly chose a “wait and see” approach in this new business of importing mangos from India. This year, they brought in relatively small consignments by costly air freight. Why risk big shipments of expensive fruit that might not sell? When they smooth the import process, we’ll probably see an improvement in the quality of fruit, access to more of the other commercial mango varieties grown in India, and most critically, lower prices.

The price of these mangos is expected to drop substantially when they can perfect the logistics of shipping them via refrigerated ocean freight. Since Indian produce exporters already send their mangos on sea voyages to other nations, it’s a matter of time before they perfect the timing of picking, packing and shipping mangos for U.S. consumption.

The catch 22 is that few American distributors are willing to foot the financial risk of importing an ocean container full of Indian mangos. Why not? American consumers haven’t shown enough interest them yet. How come? Because they’re too expensive. Why’s that? Because they’re shipped by air freight. What would it take to bring down the cost? And so on.

In the meantime, expect to pay high prices for Indian mangos, if you can find them at all. You’re most likely to find them at the largest Indian groceries in cities with a big Indian-American community. In Southern California, these stores stocked them as of last week, for an average price of $35 for a case of twelve.

Pioneer Cash & Carry, 18601 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-809-9433.

Ambala Cash & Carry, 18411 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-924-1441.

Farm Fresh, 18551 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA; 562-865-3191.

New Bombay Stores, 917 W. Foothill Blvd., Upland, CA; 909-981-9323; and 1385 Blaine St., Unit H3, Riverside, CA 951-788-3042.

Bombay Bazaar, 3848 N. McKinley St., Corona, CA; 951-272-3820.

Melissa’s World Produce http://www.melissas.com ; 800-588-0151; $55 per case, plus shipping.

The waiting is the hardest part. I managed to score the first Indian mangos imported legally into the US. Mangos shipped that far have to be picked green to survive transit, and this reality factoid should have been obvious to me long before I looked inside the case. Despite having these precious Fabergé eggs in my clutches, I endure an interminable wait for them to ripen fully.

Alphonso (left) and Kesar mangos (right)

But what if these supermangos fail to live up to the hype, and I’m setting myself up for disappointment? Will I regret forking out $35 a case for 12 mangos?

Despite these concerns, plenty of other customers were snapping up cases of fruit last Saturday. It’s impossible to underestimate the excitement in some quarters of the Indian American community for these once illicit fruits. For many, the novelty of tasting a fruit unavailable in this country for the last two decades is worth the high cost. For more recently arrived expats, these mangoes don’t hold a candle to the tree-ripened ones back home. Will I have to travel to Mumbai to enter mango nirvana?

Pioneer Cash and Carry is the largest grocer in Little India, and store owner Devraj “Dave” Kerai wanted to be first to carry this in the Los Angeles area. Despite the high cost, he expected to sell through this initial shipment of 110 cases in a day. Kerai expects his next weekly shipment to arrive this Thursday or Friday, and by Saturday, will probably be sold out again.

Due to the high cost of air freight, future shipments are unlikely to drop substantially in price. The good news is that mangos are ripening in other countries, and the varieties trucked up from Mexico sell for very low prices ($8 a case in the L.A. region). Local markets sell Haden and Ataulfo mangoes from Mexico right now, with other varieties expected shortly.

Kerai’s produce distributor also sells to other grocers across the US. If you live near a city with a large Indian community, seek out the biggest Indian market in your area. See for yourself it these legendary fruit deliver the promised flavor bonanza. The season for mangos from India is expected to last only for a few more weeks.

Pioneer Cash & Carry
18601 Pioneer Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701
562-809-9433

The first show-and-tell samples of Indian mangos arrived on American shores last week with goverment minister types from both countries trumpeting the landmark trade agreement. Other than this brief story on National Public Radio, that initial trickle of produce hasn’t been reported in very many national outlets.

Well mango fans, D-Day is here. Today, the first volume shipments of the most flavorfully cultivated mangos arrives in US air cargo terminals. Eager consumers can scrum for these expensive gems in specialty grocers this weekend.

The grocer I’m speaking with in Los Angeles’ Little India expects to sell his initial allotment of 50 cases quickly, even at $35 per case (12 large Alphonsos per case). In contrast, a case of Mexican Ataulfos currently sells for about $5 - 8 a case in the Los Angeles region.

One of my sources reports that the mango season in India is nearly over, so I suspect that red tape has stymied the import process for some time. That bottleneck seems to have cleared. My grocer reports, “they opened the flood gates all at once in India, as almost everyone that was in line to import will be getting it on the same day.”

Stay tuned, readers. Mango madness continues this weekend.

I ate my first mango as a ten year old, while spending the summer with relatives in Mexico City. Its bright yellow skin resembled some exotic canary. That cherry popping first bite into its sweet juicy flesh remains more vivid in my memory decades later than my first kiss with ol’ what’s-her-butt.

I returned home, and since then, have only bitter memories because I know how unbelievably good a mango can taste. How can I not be bitter, when the majority of mango cultivars imported into the US are flavorless fiber grenades like the Tommy Atkins variety?

Until now. The USDA will finally allow India’s famous mangos into the country. Indian food authority Madhur Jaffrey introduced NY Times readers to the mangos of her native land in an op-ed piece last year:

“The aim in India had always been to get sweet, melt-in-the-mouth, juicy mangoes with as little stringy fiber as possible… Whether you buy the sweet-and-sour pale-skinned langras of Varanasi or the intensely yellow, sweet dussehris of Lucknow or the satiny, heavenly Alphonsos of Ratnagiri near Bombay, what you will be getting are mangoes that man and nature have perfected together.

When these same mangoes entered Florida in the 19th century, they were mainly dismissed as ‘yard’ mangoes. Too soft for shipping, they were considered lacking in commercial qualities. So all the fiber that had been bred out of them over thousands of years was bred right back, giving America the hard, pale rocks we see in stores today.”

I’m like a little kid at Christmas over this. This week, I went to the Little India enclave in Artesia, CA and scouted out a grocer who’ll directly import Alphonso mangos in about two weeks’ time. He informs me that the bottleneck lies at the only irradiation facility in India that’s able to process them under USDA inspection. Unsurprisingly, there’s a ton of red tape involved. Because they’ll be airfreighted into the country, he expects a hefty price of $2 each, or about $25 / case.

In comparison, I paid $8 for a case of Ataulfos (aka Manila mangos, and sometimes by the brand name Champagne) this week. Ataulfos have until now been the best tasting variety available in this country, and their season in Mexico is under way.

I’m expecting the mindblowing mangos of my childhood, and perhaps setting myself up for disappointment, but I’m hopeful that Indian Alphonsos will live up to the hype. Stay tuned, readers, and I’ll let you know where to get yours in Los Angeles.