The Hindu Business Line : Indian mangoes to storm oil sheikhdom

RESIDENTS in the Gulf are in for a sweet surprise as more varieties of Indian mangoes are to hit the local markets this season, even as India witnesses a surge in global exports of the delectable fruit, registering a 15-20 per cent rise in the past year.

An Indian Mango Festival was launched in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, following a similar launch in Dubai on Tuesday. Plans are on to hold a third festival in Doha and Qatar from June 10 to 14. The Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Vinod Khanna, inaugurated the festival in Dubai.

The festival has been organised by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) through a tie-up with the UAE-based Emke Group in their Lulu chain of stores.

Mr A.S. Rawat, General Manager, Horticulture, APEDA, told Business Line that despite a bad crop, a 15 to 20 per cent rise in global exports of Indian mangoes is expected during 2002-2003 fiscal, final figures for which are yet to be released. A similar target has been set for 2003-2004, with the focus on Gulf markets, where a series of proactive measures has led to a significant growth in exports of Indian mangoes.

Currently, the Gulf region accounts for 40 per cent of the total exports of Indian mangoes.

In 2001-2002, global exports touched 44,000 tonnes valued at Rs 81 crore, compared with 37,000 tonnes worth Rs 67 crore in 2000-2001. Around Rs 90-95 crore of mangoes were exported by the end of March 2003, Mr Rawat added.

"Our aim now is to have a longer period for export during the season. Earlier, not many Indian varieties were available in this market after the Alphonso season. Pakistani mangoes are, therefore, in big demand in this period between later May and June. To enable consumers to taste our later season varieties, we are introducing more North Indian mangoes such as Dussehri and Chausa. This is in addition to a number of south Indian varieties such as Rumani and Banganpalle, which were introduced last year," he said.

The establishment of the Sea Transportation Protocol for Gulf and West Asia recently enables mangoes to be kept for 15 to 18 days after harvesting, thereby facilitating cheaper transport by sea to this region, the official said. "This year, 80 to 90 per cent of the mangoes are coming by sea, which will make a big difference in freight costs and retail price of mangoes here," Mr Rawat pointed out.

Plans are also underway to establish similar sea transportation protocols for Europe and South-East Asia, which are also tipped to become big markets in a couple of years, he said.

There has also been growth in value-added items related to processing of mango pulp with global exports of processed items increasing to Rs 395 crore last year, and Rs 400 crore has been targeted in the current fiscal, he said.

The establishment of the eight agri-export zones for mangoes in seven States had also contributed in a big way to growth in exports as it helped establish a continuity factor and an assured supply base, he said. Efforts were on to strengthen this concept, particularly through the cluster and single window approach to boost production and sales, he said.

The APEDA official had talks with food processing unit officials at the Jebel Ali Free Zone for ventures related to backward linkages and supply of Indian produce for these processing units. "They have evinced a lot of interest in commercial tie-ups," he said.

APEDA plans to tie-up with more supermarket chains in the region next year to market the mangoes in the UAE and other Gulf states, he added. A meeting with importers and exporters is being held in Dubai this week.

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