EU decided to lift ban on import of mangoes from India

European Union (EU) on 20 January 2015 decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from India. The proposal to lift the ban was voted unanimously by the European Commission’s standing committee on plant health.

India will be able to start the export again after a new EU legislation is formally adopted and published by the European Commission.

The decision to lift the ban was made after India, the world’s biggest producer of Mangoes made significant improvements in plant health controls and certification system.

The Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office in India in September 2014 carried out an audit and showed significant improvements in the phytosanitary export certification system.

However, imports of four other products namely aubergines, bitter gourds, snake gourds and patra leaves, remain suspended subject to sustained improvements in plant pest control.

Why Indian mangoes were banned in European Union?
European Union issued a temporary ban on import of Indian mangoes on 1 May 2014 after fruit flies and other quarantine pests were found in 207 consignments. The consignment infested with fruit flies were found by authorities in Brussels. The ban was supposed to be effective till December 2015.

The ban was imposed as they feared that the fruit flies could damage European salad crops of tomato and cucumber.

The EU accounts for more than 50 percent of total exports of fruits and vegetables from India. The UK is the main destination, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.