Brussels: A proposal by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, to lift the ban on importing Indian mangoes was on Tuesday endorsed by EU member states. A Commission press release said that the import into the EU territory of certain fruit and vegetables including mango, bitter gourd, eggplant and snake gourd from India was prohibited last April due to a high number of consignments intercepted at arrival in the EU infested with quarantine pests, mainly insects.

An audit carried out by the Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office in India in September 2014 showed significant improvements in the phytosanitary export certification system. India has also provided assurances that appropriate measures are now available to ensure that the exports of mango fruits are free from quarantine pest, like the fruit flies not known to occur in the EU, it said. The measures will allow the import of mango fruits before the start of the next import season in March 2015. At a later stage, when more evidence is collected regarding the Indian phytosanitary certification, the prohibition of the vegetables will be reviewed, it added.