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U.S. hot for mangoes from India
United States
Monday 18 June 2007
It's mango season in India, and the vendor pushcarts are overflowing with colorful mounds of this nation's juicy and wildly diverse "king of fruit."
There's the Alphonso, a small yellow mango that is among the nation's sweetest, and the Khattu, with its reddish-tinged skin. The Langda, a roundish golden variety, is a Delhi favorite, but the Hamam, a big yellow fruit and the Kesar, smallish and green-tinged, have their devotees as well. And those are just a few of the June varieties; by September, when the summer mango season ends, India's groves of tall green mango trees will have offered up more than 1.000 varieties.
"Indians have sweet tastes and when the mangoes come to market, we are all eating them, every day," said A.K. Singh, a mango expert at New Delhi's Indian Agricultural Research Institute. Of the 12 tons of fruit the country produces each year - nearly 60 percent of the world's total - virtually all of it gets eaten at home.
India began shipping mangoes to U.S. markets in late April, after the two countries reached a trade deal allowing the entry of fruit irradiated before shipment to kill the mango seed weevil, an Indian pest that could threaten U.S. melon crops.
India, at the same time, agreed to begin importing one of America's own icons - the Harley-Davidson motorcycle - after easing tight emissions standards that earlier kept the bike out of India.
The mango deal was reportedly pushed not only by officials eager to boost U.S.-India trade - which has been growing at more than 25 percent a year - but by U.S. diplomats who had spent time in India and missed their favorite summer treat.
"We hope (this) is going to help generate a whole bunch of good will and lead to a deeper trade relationship," said Ron Somers, president of the United States-India Business Council. The two countries hope to boost trade from a current US$30 billion a year to US$60 billion within two years.
The United States, which is the world's biggest mango importer, plans to allow 420.000 tons of the Indian fruit into the market this year, according to the Indian Embassy in Washington.
There's the Alphonso, a small yellow mango that is among the nation's sweetest, and the Khattu, with its reddish-tinged skin. The Langda, a roundish golden variety, is a Delhi favorite, but the Hamam, a big yellow fruit and the Kesar, smallish and green-tinged, have their devotees as well. And those are just a few of the June varieties; by September, when the summer mango season ends, India's groves of tall green mango trees will have offered up more than 1.000 varieties.
"Indians have sweet tastes and when the mangoes come to market, we are all eating them, every day," said A.K. Singh, a mango expert at New Delhi's Indian Agricultural Research Institute. Of the 12 tons of fruit the country produces each year - nearly 60 percent of the world's total - virtually all of it gets eaten at home.
India began shipping mangoes to U.S. markets in late April, after the two countries reached a trade deal allowing the entry of fruit irradiated before shipment to kill the mango seed weevil, an Indian pest that could threaten U.S. melon crops.
India, at the same time, agreed to begin importing one of America's own icons - the Harley-Davidson motorcycle - after easing tight emissions standards that earlier kept the bike out of India.
The mango deal was reportedly pushed not only by officials eager to boost U.S.-India trade - which has been growing at more than 25 percent a year - but by U.S. diplomats who had spent time in India and missed their favorite summer treat.
"We hope (this) is going to help generate a whole bunch of good will and lead to a deeper trade relationship," said Ron Somers, president of the United States-India Business Council. The two countries hope to boost trade from a current US$30 billion a year to US$60 billion within two years.
The United States, which is the world's biggest mango importer, plans to allow 420.000 tons of the Indian fruit into the market this year, according to the Indian Embassy in Washington.
