UP mango exporters now eye Iran, China

Mango exporters of Uttar Pradesh are gearing up to showcase indigenous mango varieties in Iran, China and Tajikistan next month during a promotional event, planned by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda).

Uttar Pradesh, the country’s top mango producer with four million tonnes (mt) in a year, is looking at export virgin destinations of Iran and China this season.

Although UP accounts for 25 per cent of the annual domestic production, pegged at 20.7 mt for FY18, and despite its most famous Dussehri acquiring the first Geographical Indication (GI) registration for a mango brand in 2010, the state has a minuscule share of mango exports compared to other states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Mango exports from UP are the result of individual efforts of exporters and mango growers/traders.

Nadeem Siddiqui, the promoter of UP-based export house Shahnaz Exports, told Business Standard that Apeda had long been promoting Indian mango brands in other countries, yet it had been neglecting UP all these years.

“However, this year, they have planned the mango promotional event in June when the famous Dussehri brand would be available in the market. This would allow us to explore the new markets with government support,” he said.

In fact, India is the world’s leading mango producer, corresponding to over 40 per cent of the global production, followed by China, Thailand and Pakistan. However, Indian mango exports, currently at 2.2 mt, have always been on the lower side despite high annual production since the bulk of production is consumed domestically. Pakistan's vicinity to the lucrative Gulf market is another reason for India getting a tough competition from its neighbour.

UP has 14 mango belts in Lucknow (Lucknow, Malihabad, Bakshi-kaTalaab), Saharanpur and Sambhal-Amroha-Muzaffarnagar districts. Apart from Dussehri, the other major varieties in UP comprise Langda, Chausa, Amprapali and Mallika.