Japan formally lifts ban on import of Indian mangoesmajor step forward in securing market access
Japan has formally lifted the ban on import of Indian mangoes, thereby providing market access to this king of fruits after two decades. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have formally communicated the decision to the Indian government stating that “Japan has formally lifted the ban on import of Indian mangoes in Japan on June 23, 2006 on the basis of the request by the Indian side, after confirming that there is no risk of infiltration of diseases and pests through previous scientific and technical examinations; and also getting acceptance through procedures like public hearing, public comment etc”.
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has hailed the decision as marking “a major step forward in securing access to an important market for a major Indian agricultural product”.
The lifting of the ban comes in the wake of Shri Kamal Nath’s visit to Japan last week and his persistently pursuing the matter with the Japanese authorities ever since 2004. Shri Kamal Nath first took up the issue of market access for Indian mangoes with Mr. Nakagawa, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in August 2004, and subsequently again during his visit to Tokyo in 2005, when he invited Japanese quarantine authorities to visit India for on-site tests and inspections. A Japanese technical team visited India earlier this year. The team was satisfied with the results and agreed to move ahead with the process to lift the ban, thus setting the stage for lifting the twenty-year-old ban.
The mango varieties that will now be imported by Japan would be Alphonso, Banganapalli, Kesar, Langra, Chausa and Malika which are grown in pre-identified areas of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, according to the communication from Japan.
Background:
It was in 1986 that Japan imposed a ban on the import of Indian mangoes because of suspected pest infestation by fruit flies and hence, Japanese consumers had to forego the pleasures of this king of fruits – the Indian mango. Scientific evidence was collected through large-scale tests conducted throughout India which revealed that Indian mangoes were indeed free from fruit fly pests. Data of these tests were provided to the Japanese authorities as far back as 1998 and 1999. Japanese authorities then insisted on vapour heat treatment before import into Japan to ensure disinfestations. This too was complied with. Later, an issue was raised about the incidence of a new fruit fly. A survey was commissioned and 3 years’ of data collection confirmed that there was no infestation by any new fruit fly. Despite all these efforts, the ban was not lifted.
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SB/NR/MRS
(Release ID :18521)