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The ban imposed on Alphonso mango imports by the European Union has irked the Union government but growers in the mango belt of Uttar Pradesh see it as a good opportunity to expand their market abroad. Despite being the largest producer in the country, UP lags Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh in mango export. Last year, despite four million tonnes of production, UP exported barely 12,000 tonnes, a majority of it to Persian Gulf countries.
Siraj Mehndi of the All India Mango Growers Association said the output in UP this year is expected to be down 20 per cent. He said last year the mango belt of Malihabad had produced 440,000 tonnes of Dussehri; this year, it is expected to be 360,000 tonnes. The crop area for mango in this belt is 30,000 hectares; in all of UP, it is 275,000 ha. Heavy rain in February had hit the crop. However, said grower Shiv Saran Singh, they can compensate with increased export, if only the state government helps, with timely freight subsidy and batter cargo handling.
