the ban imposed by the European Union (EU) on import of mangoes, eggplant, taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd from India, the All India Vegetable Growers Association (AIVGA) has urged the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) not to allow exporters to purchase products from the open market. Instead, the association has said, a cluster approach be made mandatory, and exporters be told to begin work on orders five months in advance through farmer clusters — so that they can contain chemical and pesticide residues in vegetables.“The prohibited commodities represent less than 5% of the fresh fruit and vegetables imported into the EU from India and therefore there is no major impact. However, the current method of allowing exporters to purchase commodities from open markets in Vashi (Navi Mumbai), and grade and pack them at the last moment should be stopped. Since the exporter does not plan, he ends up purchasing products with chemical residues. Random sampling or checks conducted by EU officials result in embarrassment. More seriously, these exporters end up managing the certification from pack-houses, which is not a good sign,” Shriram Gadhave, president, AIVGA, alleged.
