Iraq war shatters Indian mango export hopes

Thursday, 03 April 2003, 20:30 IST
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LUCKNOW: The effect of bombs raining down on Iraq is being felt in mango orchards across India. As their bumper crop ripens, mango traders fear the U.S.-led war against Iraq will hit demand across the Middle East, which is the biggest importer of the succulent summer fruit from India. "We were very happy with the prospects of an excellent crop this season, but the war is likely to lead to a glut in the domestic market," rued Aziz Hasan Khan, secretary of the mango growers' association in Uttar Pradesh, among the largest producers of the fruit. Khan, who is one of the top players in Malihabad, one of India's largest mango-growing belts, told IANS: "The Gulf nations are the largest importers of Lucknow's famous dussehri mango. The war is bound to bring down the demand substantially and, with the brief shelf life that this variety has, we will have no choice but to dump it in the domestic market at a throwaway price." Another common complaint of mango growers in Uttar Pradesh is that unlike in the past the bulk buyers from Delhi have not yet approached them. "Usually the buyers start coming in around the end of February and early March, when the crop in most orchards gets booked. But no one has shown up yet this time," lamented Mohammad Khalid, another mango grower. "It is the bulk buyers from Delhi who export our produce to the Gulf, where the dussehri is in great demand." According to Rai Singh, Uttar Pradesh's principal secretary for agro-industry and export promotion, "The state exported 28.70 tonnes of mango in 2001-02 and nearly 90 percent of this found its way to the Gulf countries." With a view to pushing exports, the Uttar Pradesh government had given special subsidy of 30-40 percent on transportation and cartage. Last year the central government had also equipped the Malihabad belt with a modern packaging centre to facilitate exports. In the light of the possibility of a major slump in demand from the Gulf, many growers are now seeking enhancement in the subsidy to 50 percent. But some feel that is not really the answer. "A hike in the subsidy will make only marginal difference when exports would get slashed drastically," said one mango grower. There have also been reports of a drop in Gulf demand for the alphonso mango grown in Maharashtra on account of the Iraq war.
Source: IANS
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