The Hindu : Front Page : Indian mangoes now for burger land

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Friday, Apr 27, 2007
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Indian mangoes now for burger land

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: People in the land of the hamburger can finally gorge on some succulent mangoes now from India. Efforts made by the Indian Government have borne fruit and mangoes of various hues and sizes are on their way to the United States after meeting the country's import plant health require-ments.

The first export consignment of 150 boxes of delicious Indian mangoes was shipped out to the U.S. shores on Thursday.

On offer for lovers of the royal fruit will be Alphonso and Kesar, the early maturing mango varieties from the orchards of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Other popular varieties including Langra, Chausa, Mallika and Dussehri are proposed for export in the latter part of this mango season.

Export of Indian mangoes to the U.S. has been a longstanding request that has come through now after protracted negotiations between the two countries.

On Indian mangoes finally making their way to the U.S. shores as was pledged by President George Bush during his visit to New Delhi in March last year, U.S. Ambassador to India David C. Mulford says: "We have followed through on President Bush's pledge to open the U.S. markets to Indian mangoes, an important national symbol in India. Bringing Indian mangoes to the U.S. is just one step in increasing agricultural trade between the U.S. and India."

U.S. Embassy officials here said the demand for mangoes in the U.S. is strong with a market size estimated at about 250,000 tonnes.

At present, the leading exporter of mangoes to the U.S. is Mexico, followed by Central American countries.

According to experts, interest in Indian mangoes in the U.S. may be strong, driven partly by the large and growing Indian population there. There is no import duty on mangoes exported to the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Indian Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture have developed a facility at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra that clears Indian mangoes for the U.S. market.

For their part, Indian officials see the opening up of the U.S. market for Indian mangoes as "an excellent business opportunity for the country's mango producers".

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