India has exported fresh mangoes to China for the first time this year after a decade of effort to gain access to the neighbouring market.
Exporters are hoping the mangoes represent the thin end of the wedge for access to China, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI).
“India managed to export delicious varieties of mangoes like Dasahari, Langra and Chausa for the first time to China this year,” said GP Upadhyaya, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).
“We hope we will send more fruits and vegetables to China soon,” he said, adding that lychees, pears, apples and vegetables are next on the wish-list for access to China.
Since joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001, China has imposed strict phytosanitary measures on Indian fresh produce, but discussions during a recent visit by India’s President Pratibha Patil and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma to China may have helped move discussions along, according to Mr Upadhyaya.
India is the world’s largest grower of mangoes, notching up around 12.75m tonnes of production in 2008/09, with almost 84,000 tonnes of fresh mangoes exported in the same season, according to National Horticulture Board figures.
