American consumers visiting supermarkets would soon get juicy Indian mangoes at a far cheaper rate as the first consignment of mango sent through sea route is expected to arrive in New York by this week.
A shipment carrying 14 tonne of ‘Kesar’ mango has already left Mumbai port on June 12 and is expected to arrive in the US this week. This is the first ever consignment sent through the sea route and is expected to reduce the retail prices of Indian mango in the United States.
According to a top official with the Agricultural & Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA), another consignment of 14 tonne would be sent to United Kingdom shortly.
Besides lower freights rates, export through sea also comes out cheaper as larger consignments of 15-20 tonne per container could be moved as against 1-1.5 tonne consignment by air. Also, air freight structure is not financially viable, as Indian mangoes become dearer in the US as against imports from South American and other countries, went sent through air.
?With mango going through sea route, prices are expected to drastically come down in the US market,? Asit Tripathy, chairman, APEDA told FE. Price of Indian mango is expected to come down to around $10 -12 per 3.5 kg pack from around $22 a pack because of the new mode of transport.
The export of mango to the US was halted because of the fear of presence of weevils and fruit fly in the consignment. The United States Food & Drug Administration wanted India to have irradiation facility to get rid of weevils and fruit fly problems in mangoes instead of the commonly used vapor heat treatment.
India, early this year, has set up the irradiation facility of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Lasalgaon, Nasik. Lasalgaon facility can handle 500 tonne of mangoes annually. For boosting mango exports, APEDA has already requested the horticulture departments of mango producing states to set up irradiation centres and seek financial assistance under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
APEDA is looking at increasing India’s presence in the US mango market, which is currently dominated by countries such as Peru, Brazil and Venezuela. The US is a high-value market for Indian mango exports as last season, one dozen mangoes (3.5 per pack) exported from India fetched $ 20-25 as compared with $5-6 for mangoes from these countries.
India exported 350 tonne of fresh mangoes to the US in 2008. India’s share of mango exports is around 8-10% with exports of 80,000 tonne last year. APEDA official said that a large quantity of mango is exported to Bangladesh and other Gulf countries, but they do not fetch ‘high value’.
India had been pushing to resume exports of its mangoes to the United States ever since they were banned in 1989 over problems with pests such as fruit flies and weevils. The issue was also taken up during the visit of then US President George Bush to India in 2006.
At present, India still relies mainly on traditional markets such as the Middle East and the United Kingdom for exporting its mangoes. A majority of the consumers of Indian mangoes are non-resident Indians (NRIs).
However, India is yet to have a substantial presence in markets such as the US, Mexico, the Philippines, and Japan. Strict quarantine laws in the importing countries are attributed as reasons for low mango exports from India.