Narrator: This is a mangosteen. If you're unfamiliar with this tropical fruit, that might soon change, because the demand for its flavor is skyrocketing. Just look at one of the 44.7 million TikTok posts with the hashtag #mangosteenfruit. In India, the largest producer of the fruit in 2022, a kilo of mangosteen costs $4. But in the US, just one fruit can go for $6. Even the saplings the nursery grows from the seeds of unsellable mangosteens are flying off the shelves. The global demand is so high that farmers in India are doing everything they can to grow more, including wiping their farms of other produce to plant more mangosteen trees — all for a fruit that couldn't be legally imported into the US from Asia until 2007. But stateside vendors told Business Insider they've been finding ways to get their hands on the fruit for decades.

So, does demand go beyond TikTok-worthy visuals? And why is this purple fruit so expensive? Some describe mangosteen as sweet and tangy, with notes of lychee, peach, and strawberry. Others can't quite figure out how to describe it. Narrator: Street vendors in New York City, like Li, have been selling mangosteen for decades, even when it was contraband. Narrator: In the early 2000s, a kilo could cost about $120 in New York, a little over $9 for a single fruit. Part of the reason for that staggering rate was a total ban on mangosteens grown outside of Central America and the Caribbean. Mangosteens are mainly grown in Southeast Asia, but until 2007, the USDA restricted imports, fearing pests like the Asian fruit fly would harm US agriculture. Even so, Li says he found ways to get a hold of some.

Narrator: Thanks to the lift on the import ban, more mangosteens are reaching the US, which has lowered the price. Today, Li is selling a kilogram for $22, but other vendors charge as much as $78. And as more mangosteens have made their way to the US, vendors have also seen demand grow. Narrator: It's not just an American phenomenon. As global demand keeps rising, mangosteen farmers in Asia are doing everything they can to increase production. One way farmers are trying to meet that demand is by simply growing more. Merlin Moothedan Nursery in Kerala, South India, decided to cut down its other fruits in favor of mangosteens. Narrator: Mangosteens currently make up 50% of the farm's profits, so Manu says it's the right investment. Narrator: Other farmers, like Shaju, are catching on too. Even the saplings the nursery grows

from the seeds of unsellable mangosteens are flying off the shelves. This year, I have just one plant, which gave me fruit for almost 10,000 rupees' worth fruit. About 40 kilos have sold. So I thought, why not? I'm taking 120. I want to plant these saplings the best possible way, and I want to make it for a commercial purpose. Narrator: He won't be able to capitalize on mangosteens from those trees anytime soon. It takes up to 10 years for a mangosteen tree to bear fruit. They need a warm, tropical climate with high humidity and slightly acidic soil. That's why they're mainly produced in South and Southeast Asia. Once the fruit does grow, the farm tries to ensure pickers don't miss a single ripe mangosteen. Badu has been picking mangosteens at the farm for 35 years. During the peak season of June and July,

harvesters like Badu climb 40-foot trees in hopes of finding the best mangosteens, considered first-grade. First-grade mangosteens are 4 to 8 centimeters in diameter, with a purple or nearly black outer shell and a bright white fleshy fruit underneath. It's a delicate dance as the climbers race against the clock to pick mangosteens before they overripen or fall, ensuring no fruit goes to waste. Pickers rotate through sections of the grove quickly to control the quality of their product and prevent mangosteens from falling in between harvests. And if one falls, it will quickly lose its sought-after sweet and tangy taste and become inedible. Narrator: Even if a fruit on the ground isn't rock-hard, they still won't sell it. Mangosteen can spoil within days of harvesting, so there's a chance it'll go bad before reaching the customer.

But every mangosteen they do pick has a predetermined destination, according to Manu, whose father started the mangosteen farm. The destination guides harvesters in choosing which mangosteens to pick. Nearly a third of the harvest is reserved for direct customers, who come to the farm to buy their mangosteen in smaller quantities. The darkest, ripest mangosteens are sold to them because they need to be eaten immediately. Another third is purchased wholesale by other retailers. They pay 350 rupees a kilogram, or around $4.17. These buyers seek less ripe, lighter-purple mangosteens that can withstand transport times. The final third goes to middlemen, including exporters who sell to other countries. The farther Manu has to send the mangosteens, the more expensive they get. Shipping the mangosteens by air is five times as expensive as ground transportation, which factors into the final price. While only certain climates are suitable

for farming prolific mangosteen trees, farmers can't depend on high yields every year. If a tree produces lots of fruit one year, it will produce less the next, causing production to vary in cycles. Last year, Manu's family farm made 10 million rupees, or about $119,000, in revenue from its harvest. This year, Manu expects a third of that. He says regardless of fluctuating profits, his family continues to benefit from mangosteen's surprising success. While Merlin Moothedan Nursery doesn't have an export license yet, other farmers in Asia who do have to irradiate their mangosteens before they reach the US market. Irradiation is when the fruit is exposed to ionizing radiation to eliminate harmful bacteria or microorganisms. But irradiation doesn't come cheap. The fruit must be shipped to either a local irradiation agency or one in the United States, adding to transportation costs.

From farm to table, the expenses stack up. Mangosteen aficionados, like Stephen Lin, bear the brunt of that cost. I'd say it's more of a treat. It'll just be more like a once-in-a-while thing, maybe, like, once a month, right, or whatnot. If it was cheaper, I'd probably go out of my way more to get it, but I do wish it was a dollar or so per fruit. Narrator: People are willing to shell out for treats like mangosteen, especially in the United States, where 57% of fruit consumers are interested in trying exotic fruits. Mangosteens are known as the queen of fruit, after a rumor that Queen Victoria loved them so much, she offered knighthood to anyone who would bring some to her. Today's consumers agree. The global market for mangosteen is growing at an annual rate of 3.6%.

and is projected to reach up to $658 million by 2030. But this growth is relatively new. When Manu's father, Merlin Moothedan, grew up eating mangosteens from a tree his grandfather planted over 100 years ago, it wasn't a viable business. Narrator: He didn't make much money from it initially. Narrator: But last year, his mangosteens sold for almost 18 times that amount. Merlin started off with 80 mangosteen trees, and now he and his sons look after 1,000 — and counting.

Why Mangosteen, The Viral TikTok Fruit, Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

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