|
In May, Lord de Mauley, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Science hosted a round table meeting at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with representatives of mango and vegetable importers and exporters from the UK and India, National Asian Business Association, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce, Fresh Produce Consortium, Dr Virendra Paul - Deputy Indian High Commissioner, University of Huddersfield and senior regulators from Defra and Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera).
The discussion focused around the sudden ban on Indian Alphonso mangoes and other items of fresh produce by the European Union on May 26, 2014, effective from May 1, 2014.
Defra discussed the increasing levels of infestation and interventions that took place in 2013 and discussed the requirements from the Indian export supply chain and regulatory authorities for improving phytosanitary certification. It was indicated that the ban was put in place as the EU did not find sufficient improvement in phytosanitary certification and regulatory measures by the end of 2013.
The industry representatives, led by Monica Bhandari of Fruity Fresh (Western) Ltd highlighted the sudden nature of the ban and the impact it has had SME’s in the UK and in India, from the growers and farmers, to exporters and importers and small high street retailers.
Ms Ruchi Chaudhari-Mehra, Director of Ruchi Exports (India), who had specially flown in from Mumbai, presented information regarding the change in procedures by the Indian regulators that have been in place since April 1, 2014 for certification and the routing of the products through APEDA pack houses.
Lord de Mauley confirmed that “the British Government values 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 decision will be taken after the FVO visit to India in September 2014. The intention is to work with all the stakeholders to get the processes right so the ban sanctioned till December 2015 is lifted sooner.”
The round table resolved to action the following:
1. Defra will facilitate discussions between the European Commission and Indian regulators about the changes required to enable the ban to be lifted.
2. Defra could provide training and technical advice to the Indian authorities and exporters (if requested) in EU phytosanitary procedures and certification requirements, both in the short term as they prepare for the FVO visit in September and in the longer term.
Uday Dholakia Chairman of NABA said “between gold plating regulation and free for all, the United Kingdom ought to strive for intelligent regulation that encompassed all the stakeholders. 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 FVO visit in September 2014, and to offer a follow up roundtable meeting in London within two months”.
Prof Samir Dani said that 'the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain between India and the UK is a unique supply chain as it includes mainly Asian companies on both sides. Effective communication and training regarding EU phytosanitary requirements is necessary at the Indian export end to provide the necessary assurances to the EU commission'.
Dr Gunveena Chadha, Director and Head CII -UK said "EU authorities ban on imports of Indian mangoes without any meaningful official consultation with India has raised severe concerns in India. 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 Confederation of Indian Industry suggests bilateral consultation between EU and India as the way forward to work out a proper mechanism to deal with the problem”.
Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI said "The ban imposed by the EU on the import of selected fruits and vegetables from India was an unfortunate development. We welcome the talks with the UK government to deal with such a situation through discussion. In particular, we welcome the willingness to provide technical assistance to Indian exporters where required and put a renewed emphasis on clear communication channels."
Monica Bhandari of Fruity Fresh (Western) Ltd said “This meeting has been a positive step forward, with Lord de Mauley and his team agreeing to facilitate positive discussions and action on this issue. We hope that with the help of Fera and Defra and measures put in place by the Indian authorities, we will be able to achieve a successful FVO visit in September, minimal interceptions of goods coming into the EU and the common goal of the ban being lifted.”
|
