Mango mania: Why India is promoting kesar to US consumers rather than Alphonsos

When George W Bush bit into an Alphonso mango during his 2006 visit to New Delhi when he was US president, he reportedly turned to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said, “This is a hell of a fruit.”

The following year, the US lifted its long-standing ban on Indian mango imports, permitting entry of mangoes treated with irradiation. It was the start of the prized fruit’s foray into the US market.

Nearly two decades later, there are signs that the market is finally picking up – Indian mangoes are available at retail outlets such Costco for the first time. Earlier this month, a headline in The Wall Street Journal declared. “Americans Will Do Anything to Get Indian Mangoes.”

Behind the surge in the demand for the fruit seems to be a switch from promoting the Alphonso variety to the kesar.

Americans are going to extraordinary lengths to get their hands on Indian mangoes. “I literally stop whatever I'm doing.” https://t.co/Xc53LYQtMV— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 23, 2026

India produces roughly 40 % of the world’s mangoes, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The fruit’s primary export destinations have been the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Kuwait and Qatar.

The US receives around 4,000 tonnes of Indian mangoes a year, according to...

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