New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) India's mango exports to the US are registering healthy growth, and irradiation operations at a key mango treatment facility in Mumbai have been normalised after a brief disruption due to a data recording error earlier this month, an official said on Tuesday.

The Mumbai-based irradiation facility, which handles the highest volume of mangoes destined for the US, faced an issue during the irradiation process conducted on May 8 and 9, 2025.

The error led to the rejection of 12 mango consignments by US authorities due to discrepancies in treatment data.

"While the error and its cause are being examined at the senior level by the facility management, the mango irradiation process and its clearance were normalised at the impacted facility with effect from May 10, with no impact on the other two approved facilities," the official said.

The exports of mangoes to the US are done under the Cooperative Service Agreement between APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

The actual procedure and the terms and conditions for operationalising mango exports come under the purview of the "Irradiation operational work plan" signed between USDA-APHIS, the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and APEDA, as the Co-operator.

As per the work plan, procurement of mangoes is done from registered farms, which are then graded and sorted at APEDA and NPPO (National Plant Protection Organisation) recognised packhouses, then followed by fungicidal treatment of hot water and finally irradiated at USDA approved irradiation facilities, which are three, in the current year.

"All such treatment facilities have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) addressing irradiation of commodities for the mitigation of plant pests," the official said.

In the 2024-25 period (as per First Advance Estimates), India produced about 22.66 million metric tonnes of mangoes, marking a 9 per cent increase over the previous year. The country contributes around 43 per cent of global mango production.

Major mango producing states include Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, contributing 6.07 million metric tonnes (27 per cent) and 4.98 million metric tonnes respectively, followed by Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat.

India is the sixth largest exporter of mangoes in the world. India's exports of fresh mangoes, in terms of value have increased by 66 per cent to the world in the last four years from USD 36.22 million in FY21 to USD 60.14 million in FY 24.

India currently exports mangoes to 48 countries, with the UAE (31 per cent) and the USA (23 per cent) emerging as the top importers during April-February 2024-25.

India's export footprint has also expanded into new markets such as Iran, Czech Republic, Nigeria and South Africa.

India's exports of Mangoes to the USA have shown an increase, registering a growth of 130 per cent, with export value increasing from USD 4.36 million in 2022-23 to USD 10.01 million in 2023-24.

Export realisations for Mangoes have also increased significantly from USD 1130/MT in 2019-20 to USD 1846/MT in 2024-25, registering a growth of 63 per cent.

Further, the government has taken a series of steps to boost mango exports. It includes the development of sea protocols, capacity building, phytosanitary training, global branding campaigns, and infrastructure expansions. PTI RR DR

Irradiation operational work plan governs mango export treatment and data integrity after facility data error triggered consignment rejections. A data recording error at a Mumbai USDA approved irradiation facility caused consignments to be rejected by US authorities; operations were normalised while management investigates. Mango exports proceed under a Cooperative Service Agreement and an Irradiation operational work plan requiring procurement from registered farms, grading at recognised packhouses, fungicidal hot water treatment, and irradiation at approved facilities, all governed by Standard Operating Procedures for pest mitigation.