The Hindu Business Line : Bengal mangoes find place in London food marts

MANGOES from West Bengal are now finding their place on the shelves of food marts in London. This is the first time that such exports have materialised.

``The first consignment was put on a British Airways flight to London on June 10 and another one is planned to be sent soon,'' the Director of the West Bengal State Food Processing and Horticulture Development Corporation, Mr N. Hazra, told Business Line.

He added that earlier, mangoes from Malda district in the State had been sent to Bangladesh on a private initiative. But this was the first instance of mangoes being air-freighted to a destination like London by a State Government-owned outfit.

Aiding the West Bengal Government in this endeavour is the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), which has just implemented a Rs 1.7-crore project for creation of storage and packing facilities at Malda, one of the major production centres of mangoes.

Sources said that in order to give a thrust to unleash the earning potential of this fruit, Apeda has collaborated with the National Horticulture Board and identified a few mango export zones. This would help focus on assisting and educating mango growers.

In these zones, hi-tech cultivation practices with matching post-harvest management practices including methods for cold treatment, packaging, and storing have been initiated. In West Bengal, Malda and Murshidabad districts have been identified as mango export zones.

"The Apeda project has enabled us to pre-treat mangoes to keep it germ-free," Mr Hazra said, adding that refrigerated vans bring the mangoes to the city.

An expert from Tamil Nadu was also here to advise the horticulture directorate on the best way to preserve the fruit.

Mr Hazra also said that for a long time alphonso mangoes grown in western India were the brand ambassadors of Indian mangoes, but the yellow fruit from Bengal can now claim its place in the sun too. Following this success, other varieties of mango - himsagar and langra - are also proposed to be exported.

Sources said that in West Bengal annual production of mango is about four lakh tonnes, of which 60 per cent is consumed within the State. The main mango growing areas are Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24 Parganas.

In West Bengal, about 65,400 hectares are under mango cultivation, accounting for over 44 per cent of the total area under fruit crops cultivation in the State.

While 57 per cent of the output comes from Malda, Murshidabad accounts for 20 per cent. State Government sources said that there has been a steady increase in the area under cultivation.

Having tasted success with mangoes, efforts are now on to export guavas to the UK once the mango season is over.

A task force set up by the State Government said in its report on agro industries that the State was one of the low-cost producers of a wide range of fruits and vegetables. However, there was a need to set up cold chain units for handling the output of this sector.

The panel had also called for a short-term export plan for focussing on mango, pineapple and tobacco.

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