Kiwis find flavour in Maharashtra mangoes, send team to boost export.

A visit by a delegation from New Zealand to India last week to inspect irradiation facilities in Maharashtra is expected to boost mango exports to the country. Senior officials of the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), who accompanied the delegation, said exports to NZ could increase by 60% this year.

“The delegation was shown vapour heat treatment ( VHT) facilities in Mumbai and another private facility set up by an exporter Namdhari Exports and the team was pretty satisfied,” Dr Sudhanshu, DGM, regional head (West) Apeda, told FE.

Around 30 consignments have already been sent to NZ and by July 15, we expect larger numbers, he said. Currently, India has only one irradiation unit in Maharashtra with a processing capacity of 10-15 MT a day.

Indian exporters who wish to export mangoes to NZ have to get the fruit treated at these facilities. Irradiation has as gained significance in light of the ban imposed by the European Union on the import of Indian mangoes.

TheEU cited “significant shortcomings in the phytosanitary certification system of such products exported to the EU”. According to Sudhanshu, biggest chunk of the fruit's export is to West Asia and that the EU accounts for only a small percentage of it. "Almost 60% of export of Indian mangoes is to West Asia, followed by Southeast Asia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.”

This year, mangoes have gone to France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and UK in addition to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong, Dubai and Bahrain. In addition to NZ, exports to the US are also on the rise. Around 150 MT has already been sent as opposed to 281 MT for the entire season last year and we are expecting this to grow, he said.

Mango exports from India to the US are likely to increase by 42% to 400 MT this year on strong demand. Senior officials said exports are expected to pick in the coming days with arrival of different varieties of mangoes from various parts of the country. However, higher exports will depend on supply of quality UP mangoes like dasheri, langda and chounsa that will hit the market during monsoon, he said.

Mango exports to the US resumed in 2007. The fruits are exported to the US after the irradiation process, a preservation technology that can reduce the risk of food poisoning and extend shelf-life of food. India's overall mango exports in 2014 are expected to be at last year's level of around 60,000 tonnes while the domestic production is estimated to be around 16 lakh tonnes.

As per a recent Assocham study, there has been an increase in mango exports, which has grown by over 27% in the last three years to Rs 267 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 164 crore in 2010-11. UAE is the topmost export destination for India's mangoes, accounting for over 61% share.

The UK’s share is 12%, and that of Saudi Arabia is five per cent. Qatar, Kuwait and Bangladesh are other leading export destinations for Indian mangoes. With a CAGR of about 110% in mango imports from India, Qatar leads the pack while the share of United States’ share is 88% and that Oman is 84%. Nepal’s share is 70%, and Kuwait’s share is 46%.

Source : financialexpress.com