The Colombian mango industry surpassed a new hurdle and gained improved market access to the European Union earlier this month.

Following official approval from EU's phytosanitary authority, the country's mangoes will be permitted entrance without previously required hot water treatment. This will likely boost the country's presence in the EU market - the primary destinations for Colombian mangoes.

A new system will replace the post-harvest practice that often impacts mango quality and was considered restrictive by some Colombian exporters. 

Shifting to stricter operational measures in the post-harvest process, the agreement was decided upon after an analysis conducted by the EU of fruit flies on Colombian fruit.

Now, operational procedures will be applied across producing regions nationwide, comprising more than 100 farms, according to the ICA.

What the industry body calls "focus on systems" will make exports more "dynamic" and less restrictive while also applying more scrutinized oversight in processes among post-harvest workers.

The change in approach to the market is significant to the Colombian mango industry as about 640,000 metric tons (MT) of 756,000MT total mangoes exported last year were sent to European markets.

Colombia produces mangoes year-round, its highest volumes reaching destinations May through September.

Last year, the industry requested market access to the U.S., where phytosanitary stipulations from APHIS also required hot-water treatment on the fruit.