B everages & Food Processing Times - June - I - 2014
Fruit & Veg News trader at APMC market said. “Earlier we used to sell our produce for anything between R30 per kg in the wholesale market. But after the ban, we are getting only half the money or less than that,” said a farmer at the APMC market. In Mumbai, the loss due to the ban
Chilli gives Tears to Exporter, Saudis rejects Indian Chilli
S
audi Arabia bans Indian Chilli due to the presence of a pesticide residue. The country ships substantial quantities of chilli.Saudi Arabia refused to accept shipment of over six tonnes of imported chillies from India, prices of the spicy produce have spiralled downwards
at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Vashi. Saudi Arabia is the fifth-largest importer of fresh vegetables from India. “The agents in Saudi Arabia found pesticide levels exceeding the prescribed level in the consignment that was shipped from the APMC
market. The pesticide percentage level was 0.1 to 1.0, surpassing the prescribed level of 0.5 per cent,” an export trader at APMC said. Already reeling from the temporary ban imposed by the European Union (EU) on export of four vegetables and Alphonso mangoes in May, the latest ban is likely to hit exporters and farmers. “Approximately 300 tonnes of green chillies arrive at APMC market daily. Of this, about 50 tonnes are distributed to local markets while the remaining is exported. Now that the ban has been imposed, prices are bound to fall sharply, affecting our incomes,” a green chilli
14
is estimated to be around R30 lakh per day. In addition, traders revealed that ban would also effect the employment of 500 workers who used to help in loading the chillies into trucks.
Some good news from New Zealand for Mango Exports
A
delegation visited from New Zealand to India last week to inspect irradiation facilities in Maharashtra is expected to boost mango exports to the country. Senior officials of the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), who accompanied the delegation, said exports to NZ could increase by 60% this year. “The delegation was shown vapour heat treatment ( VHT) facilities in Mumbai and another private facility set up by an exporter Namdhari Exports and the team was pretty satisfied,” Dr Sudhanshu, DGM, regional head (West) Apeda, told FE.
Around 30 consignments have already been sent to NZ and by July 15, we expect larger numbers, he said. Currently, India has only one irradiation unit in Maharashtra with a processing capacity of 1015 MT a day. Indian exporters who wish to export mangoes to NZ have to get the fruit treated at these facilities. Irradiation has as gained significance in light of the ban imposed by the European Union on the import of Indian mangoes. TheEU cited “significant shortcomings in the phytosanitary certification system of such products exported to the EU”. According to Sudhanshu, biggest chunk of the fruit’s export is to West Asia and that the EU accounts for only a small percentage of it. “Almost 60% of export of Indian mangoes is to West Asia, followed by Southeast Asia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.”