The frenzied popular reaction to the European Union (EU) banning imports of Alphonso mangoes from India may be understandable, but was not expected in the editorial "Mango ban" (May 5). The total fresh mango exports to the EU in 2012-13, according to the Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Development Authority, was under 3,800 tonnes (of which the UK alone accounted for 3,300 tonnes) out of India's total exports of 55,000 tonnes. Compared to the total production of over 16 million tonnes (of which Alphonso accounts for less than 500,000 tonnes), the size of exports of all mangoes, including the Alphonso, is negligible. A ban in Europe, and that too of a variety of relatively minor volume, should hardly make any impact on either its domestic price or even in importing countries, where the editorial optimistically says such varieties "have a market niche". That said, there is no denying the urgency for stricter observance of the required phyto-sanitary norms, even for domestic markets.
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Shreekant Sambrani Vadodara
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number