An Indian government representative has forecast his country's mango exports to the U.S. will rise 42% year-on-year this season to reach 400 metric tons (MT), the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

A senior official of the Agricultural and processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) told PTI that shipments began this month, with 50MT of the fruit shipped in the 10 days to May 15.

The official said the main varieties shipped so far had been Alfonso and Kesar mangoes, but in the coming days exports would likely pick up with the arrival of other varieties.

The story reported the higher exports would depend on the supply of Uttar Pradesh-grown Dasheri, Langda and Chounsa variety mangoes that would hit the market during monsoon.

The U.S. market was re-opened for Indian mangoes in 2007, stipulating requirements for irradiation. The story reported India only had one irradiation unit in Maharashtra for the mango exports, with a processing capacity of 10-15MT per day.

The story added that the country's lack of irradiation centers meant big volumes could not be sent to the U.S. market. The expected volume is still a fraction of the forecast 60,000MT of total exports.

Photo: National Mango Board

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