Hundreds of visitors lined up at Dupont Circle in Washington DC on Saturday, 28 June to taste Indian mangoes at the annual Mango Festival, organised by the Embassy of India in collaboration with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Department of Commerce, and the Dupont Circle Business Improvement District. The event showcased India's horticultural diversity and renewed calls for broader availability of premium Indian mango varieties across the United States.

Varieties on Display

The festival featured a wide range of celebrated Indian cultivars, including Alphonso, Kesar, Dasheri, Langra, Banganapalli, Chausa, Malda, and Rajapuri. Indian cuisine, rice, biryani, tea, and coffee were also served alongside the fruit, drawing visitors who came as much for the cultural experience as the mangoes themselves.

What the Ambassador Said

Indian Ambassador to the United States Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the festival has grown rapidly and become a firmly established annual attraction in the capital. 'If you go around Dupont Circle... you will find multiple... queues of people essentially wanting to taste the Indian mango. Indian rice is served alongside biryani here. Indian tea, Indian coffee... People are joyful. People are enjoying, we feel happy about it,' Kwatra said.

He added that demand consistently outpaces supply: 'We need to have more quantities of mango coming in, but invariably they come, and they are sold even before they find the shelf space on the shelves.'

Visitor Reactions

Attendees were effusive. One visitor who identified herself as Crystal named the Rajapuri as her favourite. 'I've heard a lot of fantastic stories about Indian mangoes... this is so different, and it's like sweet and soft, and it's great. I love it,' she said.

Another attendee, David Woodhead, said the taste was immediately evocative. 'These mangoes, as soon as I tasted them, it's just like I sat on a time machine and went back to India... The flavour is so rich, and we can't get it at Costco. We can't get this in the US, and these mangoes are just different,' he said.

A visitor named Radha noted the contrast with Mexican varieties commonly sold at Indian grocery stores in the US. 'We do take the Mexican mangoes from the Indian store. But... they don't have the same flavour I just had... it'd be good if we had more of those. The flavours are really very distinct,' she said.

Exporters Plan Major Expansion

The enthusiastic response has prompted Indian exporters to scale up. Ravi Soni, one of the participating exporters, said his company currently ships only four to five varieties but intends to expand the range significantly. 'We've been supplying various varieties from India, trying to increase the number of varieties from just four to five to almost 15 to 20 next year,' he said, adding that Indian mangoes should become 'much more affordable' and more widely available in the coming season.

Trade Context and What Comes Next

India is the world's largest producer of mangoes and cultivates hundreds of varieties across its states. However, only a limited number reach export markets due to stringent phytosanitary requirements and the specialised irradiation treatment mandated before shipment to the US. APEDA and approved irradiation facilities have steadily expanded the export pipeline in recent years. Promotional events such as the Washington Mango Festival are designed to build consumer awareness, strengthen agricultural trade ties, and deepen people-to-people connections between the two countries. With exporters pledging a broader selection at more competitive prices, American consumers — and the Indian diaspora — may find the fruit far easier to source by next summer.