The juicy, delicious ‘king’ of Indian fruits is all set to titillate the taste buds of South Korea soon, as the first air shipment of Banganapalle mangoes left eastwards on Thursday.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) dispatched the export consignment weighing 2.4 metric tonnes of the mango variety, which is a Geographical Indication (GI) registered product.
IFFCO Kisan, which is working with 36,000 cooperatives across the country, convinced its South Korean technology partner into buying the first ever consignment of horticultural products from India. The fruits were graded and processed at the Vapour Heat Treatment plant in Tirupati.
APEDA Chairman M. Angamuthu ‘virtually’ flagged off the consignment on Thursday morning, in tune with the COVID-19 guidelines, in the presence of IFFCO Kisan SEZ Managing Director Rakesh Kapur, Meejaim (South Korea) chairman Michelle Boos and Additional Director of Horticulture M. Venkateswarlu.
The step was part of the Union government’s initiative to promote export of agricultural products having GI recognition.
The consignment contains mainly Banganapalle mangoes besides a small quantity of ‘Suvarnarekha’ and ‘Sindhura’ varieties. The State has exported 26 tonnes of mangoes to New Zealand, Germany, England and Ireland so far during the current season. Last year, around 60 tonnes were exported owing to COVID-19 situation and the nationwide lockdown.
Export target
This year the State has set an ambitious target of exporting 300 tonnes by June-end. “We have procured the fruits from Piler and Rayachoti areas. The beneficiary farmers get a minimum additional income of ₹20 per kg over the prices prevailing in the local market,” Deputy Director (Horticulture) B. Srinivasulu told The Hindu .
APEDA has extended all support to IFFCO Kisan for a hassle-free export during the entire process of sourcing, processing, packing and transportation of the produce to South Korea.
