Kolkata: The ongoing crisis in the Gulf has taken its toll on a consignment of mangoes exported from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by sea.
Of the 12.5 tonnes of Dashehari and Langra mangoes exported, nearly 10 per cent were spoiled due to the delay in transporting the consignment by sea.
“The consignment reached the destination market on July 17, completing a 25 day harvest to market transit period. Despite the extended transit time, nearly 90 per cent of the mangoes were found to be in good marketable condition upon arrival,” the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said in a statement.
Despite the wastage, officials are satisfied with this new arrangement to send mangoes by sea, using an export protocol jointly developed by ICAR–Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (ICAR CISH), Lucknow, and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). They said growers still earned more than what they would have if the consignment had been sent by air.
The mangoes were harvested at Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, on June 22, and handled in accordance with the recommended scientific post harvest management practices. The fruits were treated with METWASH developed by ICAR CISH for extension of shelf life, scientifically graded, packed at the Amroha Pack House, loaded into a 40 foot reefer container, and transported to Dubai by sea under a continuous cold chain.
“Since sea freight is substantially more economical than air freight, exporters were able to offer higher procurement prices to farmers. As a result, mango growers realised an additional income of approximately Rs 15–20 per kg over conventional export channels, significantly enhancing farm profitability while maintaining the competitiveness of Indian mangoes in international markets,” the statement said.
This is the first successful commercial sea shipment of Dashehari and Langra mangoes from Uttar Pradesh to Dubai under such an extended 25 day harvest to market transit period, demonstrating that premium Indian mangoes can now be exported economically through sea freight without compromising quality.
Had there not been a delay due to the Middle East crisis, the spoilage would have been far less. Exporters will now be encouraged to increasingly adopt sea freight, thereby expanding India’s fresh mango exports to the Gulf region and other international markets.
Officials said the technology is expected to accelerate the commercialisation of sea route exports of mangoes from Uttar Pradesh and other mango producing states, and open new opportunities in the Gulf and other international markets while enhancing export earnings, reducing logistics costs, and improving the livelihoods of mango growers.
(IANS)
