Around 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of mangoes have been exported to the USA from theLasalgaonirradiation plant in the district during the mango season this year.
The mangoes were processed at Lasalgaon before exporting it to the USA by air, under the supervision of quarantine inspectors from the USA.
As per norms, irradiation of mangoes is mandatory before exporting to the USA. The country could not export mangoes to the USA for two years due to the pandemic. But the export resumed in 2022, when 300 MT of mangoes were exported from Lasalgaon.
The exporters involved in exporting to the USA are processingAlphonsoand Kesar varieties of mangoes at Lasalgaon. Mangoes are exported directly to the USA via Mumbai after they are processed at the irradiation centre in the district.
Maharashtrahouses two irradiation centres, Lasalgaon in Nashik and Vashi in Mumbai. While the Lasalgaon irradiation plant is owned by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc), the irradiation facility at Vashi is owned by the Maharashtra State Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB).
Currently, the Lasalgaon irradiation plant is being operated by a private firm.
The country exported 1,300 metric tonnes of mangoes in 2019, which were irradiated at Lasalgaon and Mumbai irradiation centres. Of these, 680 MT of mangoes were processed at Lasalgaon and the remaining 620 MT at the Vashi plant. There was no export of mangoes to the USA in the 2020 and 2021 mango seasons.