In London, A Wealth of Indian Mangoes Americans may struggle to get tasty mangoes from India, but in Britain, mango aficionados are spoiled for choice. Wholesalers import the fruit from India and a number of other nations, giving restaurants, retailers, pop-up vendors and customers access to the fruit for seven months out of the year. Varietals from the Dominican Republic, often called honey mangoes by local Indian vendors, start shipping to Britain in February. Just when that supply dries up, in May shipments from India begin. Pakistani mango varietals, like Sindhri, Chounsa, Anwer and Retole, start arriving in June and often last until September. London got its very first shipment of fresh mangoes in 1931, according to this article from The New York Times archive. They came by "flying boat" from Egypt. "Mangoes ripen quickly and hitherto, owing to the time taken by surface transport, the problem has been to get them here before they become over-ripe," the article said. K. Rajeshkumar, a customer service representative at iTadka.com, a popular London-based online retailer of south Asian groceries, says the site sells Indian mangoes between Feb. 15 and July 15 each year. Popular varietals include the Alphonso, Banganapalli, Kesar and Rajpuri. Just this week iTadka informed customers about a fresh stock of all three, with Alphonsos retailing for 9.99 pounds (about $16) for a box of 10 to 12. Mr. Rajeshkumar says that iTadka and most other retailers source their fruit from major local wholesalers, like Fruity Fresh, based in Middlesex. Fruity Fresh is even selling mangoes directly to individuals through a Web site that sells mangoes and nothing else. The site offers free shipping to anywhere in Britain.