EU Retaliates on Scotch Whisky with Alphonso Ban

The European Union’s (EU) decision to ban imports of Indian mangoes could impact the bloc’s negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, the Brussels-based Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) has issued a statement on the ban on Indian Alphonso mangoes and a number of vegetables due to come into force from May 1, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Apart from mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd, and prohibits the import to tackle the “significant shortcomings in the sanitary certification system of such products exported to the EU”.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said the temporary EU ban was necessary due to pests found in fruits and vegetables which could threaten Britain’s crop industry.

Although the WTO agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures allows countries to set their own standards, it also says regulations must be based on science and should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.

In this case there is no scientific justification to ban mangoes as there was no appropriate assessment of risks.

Indian-origin member of parliament Keith Vaz has been campaigning against the ban on behalf of his constituents in Leicester, which hosts an annual mango festival and has written to the European Commission president.

The 28-member European Union has temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1, sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders.

The recent decision by the grouping’s Standing Committee on Plant Health came after 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests such as fruit flies and other quarantine pests.

Though the prohibited commodities represent less than 5 per cent of the total fresh fruits and vegetables imported into the EU from India, the potential introduction of new pests could pose a threat to EU agriculture and production, the committee noted.

The UK imports nearly 16 million mangoes from India and the market for the fruit is worth nearly GBP 6 million a year. A revision of the ban will take place before December 31, 2015.

“Leicester held the first UK Mango Festival last year and it was an outstanding success. I, and many millions of British people, have eaten these mangoes and they certainly don’t seem to have had an effect on us. If this ban goes ahead we will have to cancel this year’s festival,” Mr. Vaz added.

The restrictions affect only 8.5 per cent of the mangoes imported into the U.K.

“An example of the pests being intercepted frequently is the Tobacco whitefly, which can carry over 100 harmful viruses, which would be very damaging to U.K. salad crops if introduced. Tomato crops are particularly susceptible and 100 per cent yield losses have been seen in some outbreaks in Israel,” said the spokesperson.

The EU may not be a key factor in the drastic drop in prices. While prices of mangoes have fallen in the last few days, key holders of the mango trade say that only 10 per cent of the mangoes are exported to the EU countries.

In Mumbai, mangoes are being sold between Rs.600 and Rs.2,000. Until two days ago, the range was from Rs.1,000-3,000.

Scotch vs Mango

Scotch whisky and some other imported alcoholic beverages must comply with India’s labelling regulations.

With the Customs authorities detaining more than 50 consignments of alcohol so far, the issue is now escalating into a diplomatic row.

For the last three months, consignments of the premium whisky from Scotland have not been cleared at Indian ports as they do not have the ingredients listed on the pack. The stricter labelling requirements are part of a 2006 law on food safety and standards that came into force in 2011.

“The Scotch Whisky Association has told us that they are not required to list ingredients in their country. But if they are exporting to India, they have to abide by our rules,” S Dave, Advisor, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

The British High Commissioner and the French and the EU Ambassadors to India have written to the Government asking for more time to follow the regulations. They also want the detained consignments released.

“We have informed the embassies that the labelling and listing requirements have been in place since 2011. The industry had been asking for more time to meet the demands of one festival season or the other for the past two years. We are not prepared to oblige any more,” said Dave.

The FSSAI has told the foreign manufacturers that they could take back the confiscated consignments or ship them to another country, but they can’t be sold in India.

It is not just alcohol, but consignments of other food items such as chocolates, pasta, cheese and some curries have also been held up due to improper labelling.

The FSSAI says that its labelling and listing requirements are in compliance with Codex, the global standards regulator, which is recognised by the World Trade Organisation.