New Delhi: The US have denied entry of at least 15 mango shipments from India at multiple airports, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta. The shipments have been disallowed after the US authorities cited irregularities in documentation.
The exporters were asked to either destroy the mangoes in the US or ship them back to India. As mangoes are perishable in nature and cost of return shipping is extremely high, all exporters decided to dispose of the shipments locally.
The US is a key export market for India’s mangoes, and therefore, the recent rejection assumes significance for bilateral trade ties. As mangoes are perishable and hefty cost linked to destruction or re-exportation, traders fear losses of approximately $500,000.
Irradiation process and alleged lapses
The required irradiation process was carried out on mangoes in Mumbai on May 8 and 9. But, as per an Economic Times report, there were anomalies detected by US authorities in the documentation related to this mandatory treatment, which requires subjecting the fruit to controlled doses of radiation to eliminate pests and increase its shelf life. The lapse emerged from administrative errors in the pest-control documentation rather than actual pest presence, according to the report.
Through a notice, USDA communicated to an affected exporter that US Customs and Border Protection rejected entry of mangoes “due to incorrectly issued PPQ203.” It said that the shipment “must be re-exported or destroyed,” and clarified that the US government would not bear any cost for “remedial measures for this shipment”.
The irradiation process is carried out at a facility situated in Navi Mumbai, and monitored by a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) representative. The representative is given the task of validating the PPQ203 form, which is compulsory for mango exports to the US. “We are being penalised for mistakes made at the irradiation facility,” an exporter pointed out.
Another exporter, whose consignment was disallowed at Los Angeles airport from May 9 to 11 before being ordered for destruction, was told that the shipment failed to meet the “entry requirement”, as it did adhere to the mandatory irradiation treatment. The exporter emphatically denied the allegation, pointing out that the irradiation procedure had been completed and the PPQ203 form was duly issued after the treatment.
