Indian mangoes are currently not able to be exported to the United States. Travel restrictions make it impossible for the required inspections by an USDA/APHIS officer to take place. Meanwhile India is having difficulties with the coronavirus in the country itself, however the mango season should not be affected as much, as the exporters have learned a lot from the 2020 season.
According to Himant Chavda, Chairman for Indian exporter Krish International, demand has been better this year than it was in 2020: “The season has started to pick up at the right moment. We’ll have about six solid weeks this year, which is better than we had in 2020. Buyers seem to have a good response this time around. Demand is very good at this point, and I can confidently say this is the best time to get large volumes exported. Prices are stable and also very attractive compared to the past six weeks. This means a lot of buyers have now pushed their orders to get more volumes frequently.”
The fact that Indian mangoes can’t be exported to the United States at this time is a huge problem, says Chavda. Required inspections by a USDA-APHIS officer can’t take place due to the pandemic. “We’ve seen good demand from Europe and Canada compared to last year. We are very happy to see it, because they are now in better position to handle all potential crisis. They are doing very advanced planning for this year’s business. We are facing some problems with shipping out mangoes to the United States, as they require irradiation treatment for mangoes in the presence of a USDA-APHIS officer. Due to the pandemic an officer is not able to come to India to conduct these checks. This hurts us a lot as a company, however both Governments are still negotiating and hopefully we will receive some good news on it later on.”
The pandemic is hitting especially hard in India at the moment, with the amount of corona cases explosively rising, but this should not have an effect on the mango season: “At the moment the Covid-19 situation in India is very bad, with the amount of cases increasing by a lot on a daily basis. However, the mango season should not be affected by this, as we learned so many things to ensure that business continues. We already have a very good setup when it comes to harvesting, packaging and logistics and will be able to maintain the Covid-19 protocol while working, so we’ll be able to supply our clients without any delay.”
“The blockage of the Suez Canal did not have any effect on our mango season. Although we send our shipments to Europe as well as Canada, our export is done via air freight. However, the cost of shipping via airfreight is very high, so this is actually another problem we face this year. Luckily the prices for mangoes themselves are very good at the moment.” Chavda concludes.
For more information:
Himant Chavda
Krish International
Tel: +917878119473
Email: hemantchavda_1@yahoo.co.in
www.barhidatesindia.com