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U.S.-India Business Council Hails Arrival of Indian Mangoes
Supports Successful Doha Conclusion and Deeper U.S.-India Trade
WASHINGTON, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a "Mango Celebration"
today hosted at the Washington-headquartered U.S.-India Business Council
(USIBC), just opposite the White House, U.S. Trade Representative Susan
Schwab and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns each received from
Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen the first gift baskets of ripe Indian mangoes
seen in the U.S. Capital in 18 years.
Smiles and joyous applause erupted at the USIBC mango tasting event as
an Indian chef, Mr. Ramesh, from the nearby-famous Bombay Club of
Washington, DC cut into the first alphonso mango. Indian Ambassador Ronen
Sen shared cubes of the golden fruit with the two Bush Administration
Cabinet officials credited for enabling access of Indian mangoes to the
U.S. market.
India's Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, remarked upon the first
consignment leaving India last Friday: "America for too long has denied
itself the taste of delicious Indian mangoes." For Indian mango growers,
the American market holds significant promise.
India is the world's largest producer of mangoes -- at 12 million
metric tons harvested each year -- but it accounts for less than 1% of the
global mango trade. America's taste for mangoes is growing -- with U.S.
demand 99% dependent on imports -- mostly from Mexico and South America --
at 250,000 metric tons annually, valued at $156 million. By contrast, in
2005-06, India exported 58,000 metric tons of mangoes to neighbors in Asia
and to Europe.
This breakthrough of opening mango trade is highly emblematic of a push
by both the U.S. and India to deepen two-way trade from $30 billion to $60
billion over the next two years.
"U.S. willingness to purchase Indian mangoes is another important step
towards deeper engagement and more robust U.S.-India trade," said Ron
Somers, President of the U.S.-India Business Council. "As our commercial
and strategic partnership deepens, two-way trade will soon reach new
levels, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in India and thousands of
jobs here at home," said Somers.
"USIBC salutes India's farmers and the Indian agricultural community,
and extends its heartfelt congratulations on this joyous occasion of the
first mango consignment reaching Washington D.C.," Ron Somers said. "USIBC
congratulates the Bush Administration for making this happen, and welcomes
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab's sincere efforts to successfully
conclude Doha and deepen Indo-U.S. trade," Somers said.
USIBC recently issued an RFP for its "Free Trade Initiative," calling
for proposals to prepare a "roadmap" charting the course for enhanced trade
and investment between the world's largest free-market democracies.
USIBC celebrates its 32nd Anniversary in Washington this summer,
holding its "Global India" Summit on June 27th, which will feature Boeing's
Jim McNerney, Reliance's Mukesh Ambani, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, India's Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, U.S. Trade Representative
Susan Schwab, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, among others.
The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) is comprised of the top 250
companies investing in India, joined by India's global companies, whose
purpose is to deepen commercial ties between the U.S. and India. For more
information, please contact nmehra@usibc.com.
SOURCE U.S.-India Business Council













