The US authorities have junked at least 15 shipments of mangoes from India, citing lapses in the documentation process while exporting.
US is India’s largest export market for mangoes. The fruit was exported by air and was rejected upon arrival in the US. The affected shipments had undergone irradiation in Mumbai on May 8 and 9, but were turned away at airports including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta.
Irradiation is a mandatory treatment that exposes a fruit to controlled doses of radiation to eliminate pests and extend shelf life.
The exporters were asked to either destroy the cargo or re-export it to India and they chose to discard the mangoes due to its perishable nature and high cost of transporting it back to India.
US authorities cited discrepancies in the documentation related to the irradiation process.
Two exporters expressed concern and said that the irradiation process is done at a facility in Navi Mumbai under the supervision of a US department of agriculture (USDA) officer. This officer is responsible for certifying the PPQ203 form — a mandatory document for US-bound mangoes. “We are being penalised for mistakes made at the irradiation facility,” an exporter said.
Exporters have estimated potential losses of about $500,000 due to the rejection.
A notification sent by USDA to one of the exporters stated the shipment was denied entry by US Customs and Border Protection “due to incorrectly issued PPQ203.” The statement added that the US government won’t incur “remedial measures for this shipment”, read the notification.
Responding to the queries in this matter, the office of the chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Authority (APEDA) said, “The matter pertains to the shipment of mangoes from USDA approved facility, Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) located at Vashi, Mumbai. Hence inputs may be sought from them.”