UAE asks for a residue analysis with shipment of Malda Mango due to amount of pesticides

SILIGURI: The euphoria of high production seems to have been short-lived for Malda - the home to the world's best mangoes - as exports have hit a deadlock with the UAE shutting its doors to the Indian fruit. The Gulf blues have come a couple of years after several European countries banned mango imports from India.

As per a recent advisory by India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority ( APEDA), the UAE climate change and environment ministry has expressed concern over the presence of high levels of pesticide in fruits and vegetables imported from India. The country now asks for a residue analysis report from India along with every fruit and vegetable shipments.

The Indian agriculture ministry has accordingly issued a memorandum, making it mandatory for all UAE-bound consignments to have Phyto Sanitary Certificate (PSC) to be obtained after production of test report on residue pesticides conducted by an APEDA recognised laboratory.

The regulation has come as a big blow as the UAE consumes around 70 per cent of India's mango exports. "It is known to all that hardly any consignment of the Malda mango can have a clean PSC because of high level of pesticides used here as a general practice. Organic pesticides are expensive and not as effective as their synthetic counterparts," said a veteran farmer.

"As per trend in this part of the world, after a highyielding year in 2015, this year was expected to be a low-yielding year. But it has come as a consecutive second year of high production. Malda alone is expected to see an output of around 3 lakh tonnes," said Malda Mango Merchants Association president U Saha. Malda and adjoining districts in West Bengal produce over 5 lakh tonnes or nearly 5 per cent of India's national yield. Healthy export is important for price realisation, he said.