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India is ready to export mangoes to the US this month after a gap of two years and start shipping pomegranates as well after the two sides reached an agreement on the pre-clearance inspection and irradiation process and operational work plan for export of the fruits. This follows a decision taken at the India-US Trade Policy Forum on increasing market access for agriculture products in November 2021.
On its part, Washington will start exporting alfalfa hay and cherries to India, starting April 2022, according to the Commerce & Industry Ministry.
“Exports of mangoes to the US from India did not take place in the last two years as inspectors from the country could not visit to inspect the irradiation process for the mangoes. India has since then been in talks with the US to find a resolution. With the agreement on transfer of the preclearance programme and regulatory oversight of irradiation for mangoes and pomegranate to Indian authorities in place, exports will now be possible,” an official told BusinessLine .
The Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a framework agreement for implementing the 2 vs 2 agri market access issues, a release issued by the Commerce & Industry Ministry stated. This agreement covers all market access issues being faced by mangoes and pomegranate from the Indian side and cherries and alfalfa hay from the US side.
Exports
While exports of mangoes and pomegranates from India to the US will begin in January-February 2022, export of pomegranate arils (the red edible part inside the fruit) will start in April 2022, the statement added.
Based on the TPF discussions, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is also ready to allow import of pork from the US and has asked the country to share sanitary certificates following which the matter could be finalised.
During US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s visit to India in November and her meeting with Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, agriculture was one of the main items on which both leaders expressed willingness to be flexible for greater trade.
Both sides agreed to continue working to expand bilateral trade in agricultural and food products through the TPF Working Group on Agricultural Goods and committed to holding technical dialogues on animal health, plant health, and food safety and other technical issues in 2022.
India’s export of agricultural and allied products in 2020-21 grew 17.34 per cent to $ 41.25 billion.
The US, China, Bangladesh, UAE, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran and Malaysia are the largest markets for India’s farm exports.
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