Mango exports from Maharashtra have got off to a great start this season as around 14 tonne have already been exported to Europe.
New markets such as South Korea and Mauritius are also likely to open up soon, Maharashtra cooperation minister Chandrakant Patil said.
Top officials of the State Horticulture Department had indicated that 45,000 tonne of mangoes are expected to be exported this season. Around 2,500 mango growers from the state have registered themselves on ‘Mangonet’ — the new online initiative by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda). Last year, about 41,230 tonne of mangoes were exported.
At a recent meet of the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB) to take stock of the export situation after the unseasonal rains, the minister indicated that mangoes will be exported to New Zealand, Japan, Australia among other markets since the board has taken all the necessary measures to meet the stringent requirements of these markets.
The government has hired the services of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) & Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT) this year. As a result, around 1,522 tonne of Alphanso, Banganapalli, Rajapuri and Kesar varieties have been irradiated for the export markets. Last year, mango export had run into trouble when the European Union (EU) decided to ban the Indian Alphanso over concerns of high-level
contamination.
The EU has lifted its ban but the Indian exporters will now have to give their products ‘hot water treatment’ before exporting them to the European market. The National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) has now made it mandatory for mangoes to undergo this treatment before they are given phytosanitary certificates. Around 200 tonne have undergone vapour heat treatment for the Japan market and another 55 tonne for New Zealand.
Around 2,000-odd Alphanso growers and 500-odd Kesar growers have registered themselves on Mangonet. The area under cultivation is growing by 10% every year and the state has around 4 lakh hectares under mango cultivation, Govind Hande, technical officer at State Horticulture Department said.
According to Sudhanshu, DGM, Apeda (western region), sensitization programme are being organised at Ratnagiri, one of the main Alphanso growing regions in the country. Exporters are also part of this initiative to help mango growers understand the requirements of export as well as the facilities available to them. There are some 30 exporters registered with the horticulture department.
According to Hande, mangoes are exported to 72 countries and mango pulp is exported to some 141 countries. This year, in addition to EU, growers are preparing themselves for exports to Bangladesh, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Nepal. Last year, around 310 tonne of mangoes were cleared by the Regional Plant Quarantine Station (RPQS) in Mumbai.
According to data provided by Apeda, around 41,280 tonne of mangoes were exported to West Asia, South-East Asia and the US.
India produces about 1.63 lakh tonne of mangoes every year and is the largest producer in the world. A recent study said that EU imports over 224 million kg of mangoes with a value of approximately 265 million euros.