15 shipments of Indian mangoes worth Rs 4.28 crore rejected by US: Here's why

India, one of the largest exporters of mangoes in the world, faced a significant setback recently when the United States rejected 15 shipments of its mangoes, citing documentation errors related to irradiation, a crucial phytosanitary requirement. The rejected shipments represent a financial loss of around $500,000 (Rs 4.28 crore), causing concern among Indian exporters, particularly as mango season peaks.

What is irradiation and why it is critical?

Irradiation is a process used to kill bacteria, insects, or other pathogens in food products using ionising radiation to increase their shelf life. For Indian mangoes to enter the US market, they must be irradiated as part of a bilateral phytosanitary protocol between India and the United States. This is done to ensure that no harmful pests (especially fruit flies) are transported across borders, potentially threatening U.S. agriculture.

The key here is that this process must be certified and documented properly, and an American official must oversee the irradiation in India to approve each consignment.

What went wrong?

According to exporters, the fruit shipment was rejected due to discrepancies in the documentation process. U.S. officials flagged multiple inconsistencies related to the irradiation procedure, particularly in the PPQ203 form — a mandatory document for exporting mangoes to the United States.

Notably, the PPQ203 form is certified by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector. The exporters told Economic Times that they were “penalised for mistakes at the irradiation facility”.

Another exporter told Economic Times that the irradiation process was indeed completed and the PPQ203 form was issued only after the completion of the process.

“How can we receive the form if the treatment was never done? And without that form, issued by none other than the USDA officer, the mangoes couldn’t even have been cleared for loading at Mumbai airport,” he was quoted as saying.

Who oversees this?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a phytosanitary agreement with India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Under this protocol, a USDA inspector must be present during the irradiation process in India, and all necessary paperwork must be furnished at the time of shipment.

The rejected shipments point to a coordination failure between Indian exporters, irradiation centers, and possibly USDA officials, resulting in discrepancies in the paperwork that led to the blocks.