By SUMATHI REDDY
It's been a long journey for the king of fruits.
A year after the U.S. lifted a ban on Pakistani mangoes, the first commercial shipment of the prized Chaunsa variety landed in New York over the weekend.
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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street JournalSelling for $80 to $100 for six.
They aren't cheap. Considered among their somewhat biased fans to be the world's tastiest mango, the fruits are selling for $80 to $100 for a box of six after the sole U.S. importer had to get them from Lahore to Chicago, over to Iowa for required irradiation and, finally, to New York.
Meet Abid Butt, president of Food Street Of New York Inc., a Queens-based food importer who has become Mr. Mango in the Pakistani community.
"People were scared to invest the money," said Mr. Butt. "So I decided to become the first one, I took the chance. I don't think I'll be able to cover my investment. I'm expecting a 50% loss. But it gives me satisfaction as a Pakistani-American. It can give pride to the nation and can give aid to the economy."
Mr. Butt imported 2,000 boxes of mangoes and will get weekly shipments until the mango season comes to a close in about a month. He expects the price to drop to $40 a box or so by the season's end, when the transportation logistics will have been worked out.
The mangoes were first unveiled Monday in Jackson Heights and were expected to make an appearance in the Pakistani section of Coney Island Tuesday evening.
A mango party was being planned for Saturday, to which local elected officials—including MayorMichael Bloomberg—will be invited.
"We will go to the mayor's office with a mango box and take a letter requesting him to come," said Mr. Butt.
On Monday a drummer heralded the mangoes' arrival on the streets of Jackson Heights. Kabab King, a 24-hour joint popular among taxi drivers, had already sold eights boxes by the morning. On Tuesday several boxes sat outside of Bombay Chaat, a small restaurant a few stores away from Kabab King, with curious passersby examining them. About eight boxes had been sold, mostly to Mr. Butt's friends.
Online demand has been stronger.
Mr. Butt had sold shipments to distributors in Chicago and California and joined with a New Jersey website, pksweetmangoes.com.
Jaidev Sharma, president of the Chicago-based ZZ Group, the country's largest importer of Indian mangoes, said he had 200 orders for the Pakistani mangoes but could fulfill only two-thirds of that.
Rehaan Iftikhar, a New Jersey resident, ordered mangoes through pksweetmangoes.com. He got his three boxes on Monday. Mr. Iftikhar used to time his annual trips to Toronto—which has been importing the tasty fruits for years—to mango season, not an uncommon tactic for Pakistani-Americans with friends and family in Canada.
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Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street JournalBombay Chaat in Jackson Heights is one of the first places in New York to sell Pakistani mangoes, now that the ban has been lifted.
"Part of the ritual was going for the mangoes," he said. "We'd buy a crate or two and eat them there."
The taste, Mr. Iftikhar and others say, is like no other, a sweet, juicy flavor that Pakistanis can't find words to describe. "To be honest, this is the finest mango in the world," Mr. Butt said. "It's a little hard for them to digest this," he said of the Indian grocery stores in the neighborhood.
Of course, there are those who beg to differ. Indians and Pakistanis frequently lay claim to the best mangoes.
In fact, many of the mangoes grown in both countries are similar or the same varieties. But mango enthusiasts say the fruit tastes differently depending on the soil and climate.
India began exporting mangoes to the U.S. in 2007. Indian mangoes are coveted during the few months they are imported but make a tiny fraction of total imports. It is not one of the six countries that represent 98% of imports. Mexico is the largest exporter to the U.S.
Around the corner from where Mr. Butt was selling his mangoes, Nandu Patel, the manager at the Indian-owned Patel Brothers, balked when told the price. "Nobody will buy for that," he said. "I sell mangoes for $25 to $27 a box."
There was agreement in the store that Pakistan and India were home to the best mangoes. But the consensus was India's were the best.
"Best is Alphonso," said Mr. Patel. Had he ever tried a Chaunsa? "I never had it before," he admitted.
In Coney Island, Asghar Choudhri, a Pakistani-American, was appalled to hear the price. "You can get Mexican here for $10 to $12 a box," he said.
But his friend Amir Iqbal didn't care about the price, he just wanted to know where could he buy one of his beloved mangoes.
"If these are really mangoes from Pakistan, I'm willing to pay that, no problem," said the 27-year-old. "They're really good mangoes, much better than anything else here."
Write to Sumathi Reddy at sumathi.reddy@wsj.com
