Exports of all perishable items to the European Union from India will now be routed through recognised pack-houses under the vigilance of plant protection inspectors to minimise quality glitches.

The move is aimed at convincing the EU, that recently banned export of five fruits and vegetables from India as pests were found in some consignments, to reverse its decision.

“We have asked the EU to send its team of experts to see our improved inspection and quality certification process and lift its export ban,” a Commerce Ministry official told Business Line .

The EU’s Standing Committee on Plant Health imposed a ban on Indian mangoes, bitter gourd, taro, egg plant and snake gourd, as pests and insects were detected in a number of consignments shipped from the country.

Ban may be extended

The ban, which will be applicable from May, could be extended to other perishables if EU is not satisfied about India taking genuine steps to improve its sanitary and phyto-sanitary certification process, the official said.

Although only about 5 per cent of India’s total exports of perishables to the EU have been affected at the moment, there is much more at stake as the country exports fruits and vegetables worth over €400 million to the region.

Indian officials from the Commerce Ministry and the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) under the Agriculture Ministry recently met officials from the EU’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs in Brussels to discuss the ban.

“We informed the EU that India had already decided to put in place an improved inspection and quality certification process when the ban was announced and the EU should have waited for it to be implemented. Now that we have gone a step forward and are getting the packaging process supervised by NPPO inspectors, there shouldn’t be any more problems,” the official said.

The Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), in its notification, has specified that it is not only essential for pack houses to follow complete procedure for export of fruits and vegetables to the EU laid down by it, it also has to maintain records of arrival of material and actual shipped quantity and report it daily to the Government.

Improved inspection

“The number of rejection of consignments at the pack houses has gone up significantly after the stricter inspection and certification process was put in place this month. We are confident that the EU will have less to complain about now,” the official said.

The EU, however, has not given any commitments on when it would lift the existing ban.

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