Banginapally mangoes from southeastern India cannot be exported to the US because the state of Andhra Pradesh does not have an irradiation facility.
Five years after former US president George W. Bush declared, 'I want my fellow Americans to eat these mangoes,' his countrymen are yet to taste fruit from a state that accounts for 4-6 per cent of total Indian exports.
The only irradiation facility in India is on the other side of the country in Trombay, Maharashtra.
Although Andhra Pradesh mangoes are exported to the Middle East and Singapore, the only varieties that go to the US are Alphonso and Kesar, which are produced mainly in Maharashtra and the neighbouring state of Gujarat.
