India, Oct. 31 -- That mango lovers are waiting eagerly for their favourite fruit even though the usual season is nearly four months away was apparent on Friday when the first batch of Devgad Alphonso mangoes arrived at the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market and got sold out within hours.

Sanjay Munde, a retailer from Crawford Market, bought the entire six-dozen lot for a whopping Rs.26,000, more than ten times the usual price, hoping to sell the fruits for even higher prices, leaving the farmer, Milesh Bankar, elated.

Bankar had taken special care to induce flowering in his mango orchard in Devgad taluka under Sindhudurg district in June-July and spent weeks protecting the flowers as they matured into plump fruit...