NEW DELHI: When US President George Bush tasted Indian mangoes during his visit to New Delhi last year, he so liked the fruit that a deal for its export to the US was quickly rustled up.
But before he or his fellow Americans are able to tuck into the alphonso, langra, dashari or other famous varieties this summer, the fruits will undergo “irradiation” treatment so that “quarantined plant pests” do not enter US territory.
A senior official of the Union agriculture ministry told DNA: “Even the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal could wait, but not the mangoes. They are all set to sail for the US by April 2007. Isn’t it great that Americans will finally get to taste our mangoes?”
The task of readying the shipment has fallen upon the bureaucrats from the agriculture ministry, who are working at a frantic pace to meet stipulations set by the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS).
The Americans are so eager to bite into the alphonsoes by April that the USDA-APHIS has mooted a proposal to amend its fruit and vegetable regulations and welcome the king of fruits. Two teams of US experts have already visited India to inspect the irradiation facility.
Maharashtra, incidentally, has a lot to with the export. Not only will the luscious alphonsoes be carted from Maharashtra and Goa, they will be “irradiated” and made export-worthy at the Bhabha Atomic Reach Centre’s irradiation facility in Lasalgaon, Nasik.
The Department of Atomic Energy and the BARC are in the process of finalising the Facility Compliance Agreement, which will be countersigned by the USDA. Another official body, the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, will look into the registration of approved mango orchards and packing houses.
Maharashtra’s orchards are set to benefit the most. “The BARC facility at Lasalgaon is the first irradiation facility to be involved,” the agriculture ministry official said. The irradiation treatment will cost US $9,000 (about Rs4,50,000) annually.
After the mangoes are given the nuclear treatment, they will be tested again for plant pests.
