RIYADH: Saudi mango cultivated in Jizan, southwest of the Kingdom, is one of the major highlights of a 10-day Lulu Mango Festival that opened simultaneously at its stores in Riyadh and Al-Khobar from Wednesday. Dubbed as "'Mango Mania", the festival will have on sale over 100 different varieties of mango imported from 10 countries including the locally produced type popular known as 'king of fruits', said Shehim Muhammad Unni, regional director, Lulu Hypermarkets, an Abu-Dhabi based chain of stores. The mangoes during the first two days of the festival were offered on cost price at both stores in Riyadh and Al-Khobar, Shehim Mohammed Unni, regional director, Central Province, said. The 'Mango Mania' also includes all mango-related products such as cakes, pizzas, dessert and pickles among other things. "Lulu Mango Festival is aptly described as 'Mango Mania' because it offers a wide-ranging variety to the mango enthusiasts under one roof," he said, adding that sampling of different varieties of mangoes will be offered to the customers. He said among the various varieties will include the biggest type parlmar imported from Brazil which weighs between 7.50 grams to 1.2 kg. The smallest is the Indian mango called chakrakutty weighing about 50 grams. He said the festival also offers host of competitions for each member of the family such as cooking competition for women with mango as an important ingredient for preparations that include mango dessert, mango shakes, and fruit carving with mangoes. Each winner in the competition will win fabulous prizes. This year, the festival showcases mango varieties that include Alphonso, Badami, Totapuri, Rajapuri, Kesar, Rumali, Mallika, Sindhur, Dushehari, Langra, Kent, Malgova, Kenyan Apple mango and others such as gudadath, green sweet, chockanan, kesat, mahachanok. Packer Koya P. Ali, regional director for Saudi Arabia, said Lulu Mango Festival is unique in the sense that the event offers fresh and delectable varieties of mangoes not available anywhere in the Kingdom. "Like the mango enthusiasts, we at Lulu are also excited to organize this annual event that attracts huge numbers that eagerly wait for the festival," he said. He said about 12,000 to 13,000 mango lovers visited the similar festival organized in Al-Khobar last year. Rizwin Razak, purchasing manager, Fruits and Vegetables for Saudi Arabia, said special varieties of mangoes are being imported for Lulu Mango Festival from countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Yemen, Kenya, Mexico, Brazil and Ivory Coast.
