'India, U.S. talk market access for agri-products'
Tuesday, 09 November 2010, 06:15 IST
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New Delhi: India today raised the issue of high phytosanitary fees for export of mangoes to the U.S., while the Americans sought market access to their barley and pet food products. Briefing media after the meeting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Tom J Vilsack, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said, "Only general issues were discussed. For instance, export of mangoes is allowed to the U.S. but the phytosanitary fee is kept at such a high level that it has become unviable for us." Pawar said that the USDA official pointed out that the fee is uniform for all the countries and they can't take an exception to India. Mango exports resumed in 2007 after a gap of 18 years. Last year, India exported almost 250 tonne of mangoes, whereas the country has the potential to export almost 500 tonne of mangoes annually.
Source: PTI
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