Mango is often referred to as the king of fruits. After waiting an entire year everyone gets to eat mangoes in the summer when they are ripe. India is home to many different varieties of mangoes such as Alphonso Malda Langra Dasheri Chausa etc. You wouldn’t believe that Mukesh Ambani India’s richest man also has a mango orchard that has made his company one of the largest mango exporters in the world. In 1997 while facing environmental challenges at the Jamnagar refinery Reliance transformed barren land into the Dhirubhai Ambani Lakhbaug Amrani orchard. Which mango varieties are grown in Ambani’s orchard? Did you know that Mukesh Ambani one of the richest men in the world owns a huge mango orchard in Jamnagar Gujarat that spans about 600 acres? The “Dhirubhai Ambani Lakhibagh Aamrai” consists of over 150000 trees producing more than 200 types of mangoes including premium varieties such as Hapus (Alphonso) and Kesar. Each year thousands of tonnes of the premium mangoes are exported around the world from Ambanis orchard because of their amazing taste smell and quality. The orchard can be considered an agricultural laboratory where researchers are using avenues such as soil health monitoring drip irrigation and organic agriculture to make certain that the yield and quality are internationally competitive. Why did Reliance decide to convert barren land into a mango orchard? Mukesh Ambani started growing mangoes in 1998 and converted barren and saline land into fertile soil taking into consideration the environmental and pollution control needs of the area. Nita Ambani personally cares for and supervises the ongoing care of this large garden tract. In 1997 when Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery encountered serious pollution problems which prompted the Pollution Control Board to deliver stringent environmental warnings and enforcement. Reliance not only took it as a challenge but as an opportunity to rehabilitate the wastelands surrounding the refinery as mango orchards and start the Dhirubhai Ambani Lakhibagh Amraai. Where is this massive orchard located? How much revenue does Reliance generate from this mango business? According to media reports Reliance holds a 25% share of India’s premium mango market which is distributed through its huge retail network of more than 10000 Reliance Retail stores and online where they are marketed to a wide consumer base accounting for approximately Rs 200 crore (US$25 million) in annual revenue domestically. Reliance also provides modern farming training to local farmers here. Every year approximately 1 lakh plants are given to the farmers free of charge to enable the farmers to make some additional money. Most notably mango has established a strong business tie between India and America and Mukesh Ambani’s garden is helping to fulfill the increasing demand for Indian mangoes in the US and Europe.