A round table meeting to discuss a way forward for the Indian-British mango ban saga has been hailed a success with a pledge by the U.K. Government for closer collaboration with Indian counterparts.

U.K. government officials, Parliamentary Minister Lord de Mauley, Indian exporters, British-Indian importers and other industry professionals discussed the next steps during official discussions last week.

Ruchi Chaudhari-Mehra, Director of Ruchi Exports, who had flown in from Mumbai, presented information regarding the change in procedures by the Indian regulators that have been in place since April 1, for certification and the routing of products through Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) packhouses, according to a release.

The decision to overturn the mango ban, which also includes prohibitions on two types of gourd, eggplant and the taro plant, is with the European Commission. The intention of the meeting was to gather all stakeholders together to 'get the processes right' so the ban is lifted.

The release explained how the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will facilitate discussions between the Commission and Indian regulators about the changes needed in the supply chain.

It's also possible that DEFRA could provide training and technical advice to Indian authorities and exporters regarding phytosanitary procedures and certification requirements in the short and long term.

On Friday, www.freshfruitportal.com reported how an EU audit will be carried out in September 2014, and overturning the ban during this year’s mango season is an unlikely scenario.

Also in attendance at the meeting was National Asian Business Association (NABA) chairman Uday Dholakia.

"“I am most indebted to Lord de Mauley for the meeting and supporting the British Asian businesses and kindly offering the support of UK regulators to closely partner with Indian regulators to develop best practice in preparation for the EU food and veterinary office (FVO) visit in September and to offer a follow up round table meeting in London within two months," he said in a release.

Gunveena Kaur Chadha, director and head of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was also in attendance.

"EU authorities ban on imports of Indian mangoes without any meaningful official consultation with India has raised severe concerns in India," Chadha said.

"While the government authorities in India have already implemented a new system to improve certificates and standards and experts are looking at options of hot water dipping treatment to manage contamination of the fruit, the industry is of the view that this treatment affects the taste of the fruit.

"Besides, the cost of infrastructure required for this treatment is prohibitive especially for small exporters. The CII suggests bilateral consultation between EU and India as the way forward to work out a proper mechanism to deal with the problem."

Lord de Mauley, who hosted the event, said Britain valued the bilateral trade with India and is willing to support Indian regulators and the exporters and importers with technical assistance and collaborations with British regulators.

"The ability to overturn the ban is with the EU Commission and such a decision will be taken after the FVO visit to India in September. The intention is to work with all the stakeholders to get the processes right so the ban sanctioned until December 2015 is lifted sooner," he said.

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com