Indian mango wins trophy: India boosts exports, Singapore festival rewards performers with fruit

Indian mangoes are the ultimate prize at this weekend’s Singapore Cultural Festival. Performers were rewarded with boxes of the fruit as India pushes to export mangoes overseas.The “Threads of Indian Heritage” festival, held at the Yishun public housing estate in northeastern Singapore, saw singers, dancers and musicians congratulating themselves with cartons of mangoes instead of traditional souvenirs or trophies.The initiative, organized by the High Commission of India in Singapore, marks the second edition of the Mango Promotion Festival held this month. An earlier event, held from May 1 to 3 at another residential area on Singapore’s east coast, attracted more than 6,000 visitors who tasted 10 varieties of Indian mangoes.“We have been working hard to introduce various globally renowned Indian mangoes to our friends in Singapore,” Indian High Commissioner Shilpak Ambule said on Sunday, PTI reported.He added that the events have received an overwhelming response and more such festivals are planned during the mango season. “We are not just showcasing Indian mangoes, but giving our Singaporean friends a glimpse of incredible India in the hope of bringing them closer to India,” he said.According to organizer Sithara Doriasamy, about 60 performers participated in the latest festival, which attracted more than 650 residents from the Nee Soon community. Singaporean MP Lee Hui Ying also attended the event.Thanesh, a local musician who performed with a band at the festival, said receiving mangoes as a token of thanks was a first for him. “I have performed at dozens of events, but this is the first time I have received a box of mangoes as congratulations, my favorite fruit,” he said.Long-term Singapore resident and community volunteer Tanuja Mohindru said the unusual reward has spurred curiosity and demand for Indian mangoes, even among non-Indians.As the world’s largest mango producer, India has been stepping up efforts to promote exports of premium varieties such as Alphonso and Kesar to overseas markets such as the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom. Mango festivals, tastings and buyer promotion programs have increasingly become part of this strategy.