Mango Prices to Go up as EU Lifts BanHome

EU had imposed a temporary ban on Indian fruits and vegetables on May 1, 2014, when its trade authorities in Brussels found 207 consignments from India infested with fruit flies - pests that are native to the Indian soil but have the potential to infest and damage European crops. The ban had caused a loss of about $10.09 million to the Indian exporters. Mango growers had to sell export-quality mangoes at half the price in domestic markets. On February 12 this year, EU announced lifting the ban on Indian mangoes. This has given mango growers reasons to cheer.

"Of course, Karnataka will benefit a lot as it is one of the top mango-producing states in the country," Mango Development Board chairperson Kamalakshi Rajanna told Bangalore Mirror. She said about 1.7 lakh hectare land in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagaram was under mango cultivation and a majority of the produce was bound for UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

On the flip side, the domestic market is likely to be different from last year. "Karnataka produces about seven to eight lakh tonnes of mangoes annually. However, this year, we are expecting that the production will be less by five per cent due to untimely rains and other factors," said Rajanna.

Source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/