An exhibitor shows mangoes during the Mango Festival held in Aswan, Egypt, June 26, 2021. The four-day Mango Festival Aswan 2021 that kicked off on Friday is held by Aswan Governorate and joined by 12 merchants specialized in growing and distributing mangoes to promote the strategic fruit planted in the province and directly connect wholesalers with customers through win-win sales. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
by Mahmoud Fouly
ASWAN, Egypt, June 27 (Xinhua) -- "How great you are, Mango! How sweet you are, Mango!" These are lyrics of an Egyptian song heard in the background as customers cross the entrance to a mango festival held at a public garden overlooking the Nile River in Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan.
The four-day Mango Festival Aswan 2021 that kicked off on Friday is held by Aswan Governorate and joined by 12 merchants specialized in growing and distributing mangoes to promote the strategic fruit planted in the province and directly connect wholesalers with customers through win-win sales.
Ghada Abo Zaid, deputy governor of Aswan, said that the festival seeks to help mango farmers market their products, pointing out that the mango season in Egypt begins in Aswan due to its summer hot weather and the province produces 56 different types of mangoes.
"This is the second time to hold mango festival. The first time was two years ago and we try to maintain this tradition," the deputy governor told Xinhua, adding that investors started to contact the governorate for buying high quality mango products to process and export.
Aswan produces more than 100,000 tonnes of mangoes annually, part of which are exported and the rest are sold in local market, according to Abo Zaid, who described the turnout of customers visiting the festival as "very good."
The entrance begins with a gate-like shape of green and yellow balloons leading to several stands of different types of mangoes surrounded by customers, most of them women from Aswan.
"The celebration of a mango festival is a nice idea that comes in a nice season, for we all love mangoes," said Dina Mady, a young lady from Awan.
"We bought a lot of mangoes today for us and for the family as well. We wish this initiative could be repeated and applied to all fruits in all seasons," she added.
Hossam Sultan, a man from Cairo who works in a mega energy project in Aswan, took his wife and little child to the mango festival to enjoy the festive atmosphere and buy some of the popular fruit in Egypt.
The man believes that the process from wholesalers to retailers ends up doubling the prices paid by the end consumers.
"But connecting producers directly with customers decreases prices, skips the brokers in between and helps make more profit for the farmers or the growers," he explained.
The one kilogram of mangoes at mango festival costs 15 Egyptian pounds (about 1 U.S. dollar), while mango prices are generally double or triple as much elsewhere in Egypt.
Abdel-Nasser Mahmoud, a 35-year-old mango seller, was taking mangoes out of straw baskets and arranging them in large trays on his stand to be attractively displayed for visitors of the festival.
"Many people don't know that Aswan has the best types of mangoes. So the festival seeks to make Aswan mangoes popular nationwide," he said, adding that he has been working in the mango business since he was a child.
Hassan Amin, Aswan governor's economic advisor and a main organizer of the festival, said that the governorate has received a large number of orders thanks to the festival, including an investor who has ordered 2,000 tonnes of mangoes to be delivered within a week.
"Through mango festival, we market a strategic product, seek to raise its added value and make a connection between producers, farmers, merchants and investors," Amin told Xinhua. Enditem
