India-EU mango issue: EU team visiting India in September

NEW DELHI: Amid temporary import ban of Alphonso mangoes, a team of experts from Europe is likely to visit India in September to check the measures put in place by the country.

"In September, a European team is likely to visit us. That is the time when they will go through the whole technical infrastructure of the country and the technical processes which certify fruits and vegetables," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters here.

In April, the 28-member European Union had temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes and four vegetables from India from May 1. India has threatened to drag the European Union to the World Trade Organization if the 28-nation bloc did not lift its ban on the import of Indian mangoes and vegetables.

Imports have been restricted as 207 consignments of mangoes and some vegetables shipped from India in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests. The UK imports mangoes from India worth almost 6 million pounds a year.

India, the world's largest mango exporter, sells about 65,000-70,000 tonnes of all varieties of the fruit overseas out of its total production of 15-16 lakh tonnes.