CURRENT AFFAIRS - MAY1

KEYWORDS: International relations, Economic Development, Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and

downstream requirements, supply chain management.

Centre asks EU to lift ban on Indian mangoes

The Government and exporter body The  Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) have asked the European Union to lift a ban on mangoes shipped from India, saying concerns raised by the 28-nation bloc about the quality of the fruit have been addressed.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has written to EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on the issue

On Monday, the EU banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India for the period from May 1 to December 2015, after authorities found consignments infested with fruit flies.

“The EU informed India in mid-March about the issue and immediately after that we have put in place a strong mechanism for examination and certification of the commodity. We have already addressed their concerns,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General, FIEO. Mr. Sahai said plant quarantine officials were inspecting all consignments. “So we have asked the EU to lift the ban,” he added. — PTI

Our Mumbai Special Correspondent reports:

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Wednesday that an Indian delegation had left for Brussels to ask the EU to revoke its ban on the import of Alphonso mangoes. “The EU felt certain export norms had not been met. This is being addressed,” said Mr. Chavan. He, however, said that the ban had not impacted prices in Maharashtra since the European market accounted for a a small share of the export of Alphonso mangoes. India exports around 25,000 tonnes of Alphonso mangoes each year, a fifth of which comes from Maharashtra.

“The markets for the Alphonso mango in the U.S., Japan and the Gulf are larger than Europe,” Mr. Chavan said.