Farmers in a mango-growing region of India are eyeing new markets for the 'king of fruits', now that the doors have been shut in the European market due to concerns over high contamination levels of non-European fruit flies.

The state of Odisha on the country's east coast is home to several mango farmers, some of whom would ordinarily export a percentage of their yields to the U.K. and Europe at this time of year.

But instead, around 3 metric tons (MT) have been dispatched to the neighboring country of Bangladesh with the first consignment transported by rail freight over the weekend.

It is also understood that approximately 500MT of Odisha mangoes will go to Delhi and other regions around the country this week.

"Some mangoes were sent to Bangladesh recently to see what type of prices they will get in that area. Indians love mangoes and they are always very popular but we are not sure yet what price local people will pay," an Odisha government official told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"Unfortunately for some mango growers, the EU ban means they cannot export produce to Europe for the time being at least. We are all hoping this will change very soon and many people believe it is unfair on the country."

However, the official said growers would have to continue looking elsewhere if circumstances did not change.

"We are also exporting fruit to other states including Bihar and West Bengal. Firstly, we will explore the market in Bangladesh and if we get a good response then we will consider transporting more mangoes," the official said.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said in a statement that the Indian mango ban would be reviewed before it officially came to an end on December 31, 2015.

"The measures prohibit the import of some fruits and vegetables from India to tackle the significant shortcomings in the phytosanitary certifications systems of such products exported to the EU," the commission said.

"This decision had to be taken due to the high number of such consignments being intercepted at arrival in the EU with quarantine pests, mainly insects."

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