Indian mangoes

Indian mango imports have so far failed to live up to the expectations of South Korean consumers.

That’s the view of D K Singh, chairman of agri-export promotion body APEDA, as reported by the Economic Times.

Speaking at an event on cold chain development this week, Singh said initial consignments had left much to be desired from a number of perspectives.

“Feedback received from Korea on export of mangoes was not good, in terms of quality, packaging and other related issues,” Singh said, according tothe Economic Times.

The first shipments of Indian mangoes arrived in South Korea this month, after the North Asian nation opened up market access earlier this year.

While Singh acknowledged there was a concerted focus on improving backend infrastructure in India, he said the same level of attention was required when it came to the market of destination.

'When we think of a business plan in logistics development, we must also think those aspects which are relevant in a particular market,” Singh added.

He also highlighted the need to develop a more sophisticated cool chain for Indian exports, with most of the attention currently on infrastructure for imports.

'That segment is well off and the industry is ready for a distribution network but not for exports, and industry is not ready to work with farmers,' Singh said.