Mango Row: Maharashtra govt agency alleges US inspectors skipped standard procedures

Pune | New Delhi: Following rejection of 15 consignments of Indian mangoes by the US due to procedural lapses, the Indian authorities have claimed that the American inspectors did not follow the protocol."Instead of discussing the matter with relevant agencies or notifying the facility beforehand, they (the inspectors) directly reported the alleged issues to their senior offices in the US, resulting in the rejection of the 15 consignments," Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), a government arm housing an irradiation facility in Mumbai, said in a statement on Tuesday.It further said that had the American inspectors flagged the issues to facility officials prior to issuing PPQ203-a mandatory document for US-bound mangoes-"the losses could have been avoided."The state agency also confirmed that the US authorities had rejected a total of 25 metric tonnes of mangoes from 10 exporters-all irradiated on May 8 and 9. ET was first to report about the rejection of Indian mango shipments in multiple American airports including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta.The affected mango consignments were irradiated- a mandatory treatment that exposes the fruit to controlled doses of radiation to eliminate pests- at the MSAMB-operated facility in Navi Mumbai. The process was carried out under the supervision of an officer deputed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).According to multiple government sources, the executives on duty allegedly failed to properly record the dosimeter readings. "We have initiated an inquiry to determine what went wrong," said a senior MSAMB official, speaking on condition of anonymity.At present, mango exporters in India have access to three irradiation facilities located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai for treating US-bound consignments.Meanwhile, the irradiation operations in Mumbai have been normalised after the brief disruption due to a data recording error, an official in New Delhi said Tuesday."While the error and its cause are being examined at the senior level by the facility management, the mango irradiation process and its clearance were normalised at the impacted facility with effect from May 10, with no impact on the other two approved facilities," the official said.Between May 11 and May 18, around 53,072 boxes (185.75 metric tonnes) of mangoes were exported to the US in 39 consignments from the Mumbai facility, MSAMB has said, indicating that exports have since returned to normal. These mangoes, including Alphonso, Kesar, Banganapalli and Himayat are now being sold in the US market. Northern varieties such as Raspuri, Langra, Chausa, and Dasheri are also being irradiated and exported successfully.India's mango exports to the US have risen 130% to $10 million in FY24 from $4.36 million in 2022-23.The exports of mangoes to the US are done under the Cooperative Service Agreement between APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) and the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).The actual procedure and the terms and conditions for operationalising mango exports come under the purview of the Irradiation operational work plan signed between USDA-APHIS, the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and APEDA, as the Co-operator. As per the work plan, procurement of mangoes is done from registered farms, which are then graded and sorted at APEDA and NPPO-recognised packhouses, then followed by fungicidal treatment of hot water and finally irradiated at USDA approved irradiation facilities.