The world is gaga over India’s mangoes. Each year, the country produces 24 million metric tonnes of the fruit, of which around 32,000 metric tonnes are exported, and the rest is consumed internally.

But even as the world shows its love for Indian mangoes, Japan has halted its imports of the fruit, hurting the business of mango exporters, who are already struggling with a dented business owing to the West Asia conflict.

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So, what’s going on? Why has Japan fallen out of love with Indian mangoes? Here’s the full story.

No Indian mangoes for Japan

This year, Japan slapped a ban on
mango imports from India after its inspection team found irregularities in production at the country’s facilities.

An Economic Times report notes that each year, prior to the export season, a team from Japan comes to India to check the vapour heat treatment (VHT) — a non-chemical quarantine process that keeps mangoes free of pests in hot and humid air.

When the team visited the plant at Rehmanpur in Uttar Pradesh, they found deficiences in fumigation and related disinfection measures. This, in turn, led Japan to halt imports of mangoes.

Men package Alphonso mangoes inside the Devgad Alphonso Mango Producers Association, in Devgad. File image/AFP

Yokohama Plant Protection Association, a public-interest organisation in Japan, then issued a notification that mango shipments with certificates issued by India on or after March 25, 2026, would not be accepted. It added that imports of fresh mangoes from Indian facilities would remain suspended until authorities in Tokyo were satisfied that operational standards in India had improved.

As a result of this, mango varieties such as Kesar,
Alphonso, Langra, and Banganapalli will not feature in the Japanese markets. Moreover, insiders were quoted as telling the Economic Times that the issue isn’t likely to be resolved this year.

The move has left mango exporters dismayed. Akram Baig, an exporter based out of Uttar Pradesh, told The Print, “Although the Japanese market is not that big, it is still very relevant, given that this year the domestic market is also facing trouble and we are losing money.”

“How can every facility’s mangoes be rejected?” questioned Baig. “It almost seems as though the inspection team arrived with the intention of failing these facilities regardless of their actual performance.”

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Another Pune-based exporter told the Economic Times, “I am not aware of the exact reasons behind the Japanese restrictions on Indian mangoes. However, I can confirm that we are not exporting mangoes to Japan this year.”

While the Indian government hasn’t commented on the issue, the president of the Mango Grower Association of India, S Insram Ali, told The Print that the Centre is already in talks with the Japanese government. “We were promised some solution”, he said.

Bitter pill to swallow for Indian mango exporters

The news of Japan halting mango imports from India deals a significant blow to mango exporters. They note that while Japan isn’t their key market, such losses right now are hurting their business.

They complain that they are already facing losses as a result of the ongoing
West Asia conflict, with exports recording a 20-30 per cent drop. Exporters complain that the war and the subsequent rise in oil prices have caused significant logistical challenges for exporters.

India has a strong mango economy. The entire mango crop was worth around $2.3 billion last year. Of this, 29,938.40 tonnes were exported at a value of $56.5 million. File image/AFP

The shortage of refrigerated containers, which are critical for transporting perishable commodities such as mangoes, has made it harder for Indian exporters to secure adequate capacity. Moreover, refrigerated container charges went up by about $1,000 in March. Container charges also include a $4,000 levy — about four times the usual freight cost to West Asia—making exports economically unviable.

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As Ekram Husain, vice-president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (Maharashtra), told Live Mint, “The high freight cost, war surcharges and limited availability of refrigerated containers have cast a shadow over exports of in-season mango varieties. April marks the onset of India’s peak mango season, featuring early- to mid-summer varieties like Alphonso and Banganapalli. Challenges are emerging not just for shipments to West Asia, but to other destinations as well, as longer shipping routes increase costs and are likely to disrupt sailing frequency.”

The
ongoing heatwave is posing yet another challenge for
mango growers and exporters. It has damaged the crop in many parts of the country, hurting the overall mango business, which was pegged at $56 million in 2025.

India mangoes are largely exported the UAE, US, UK, Kuwait, and Qatar. File image/AFPJapan and India’s mango affair

In Japan, Indian mangoes are a huge draw. In 2025, Tokyo imported the ‘king of fruits’ worth $1.54 million. Of this, Gujarat’s Kesar variety accounted for the largest share at $0.2 million.

Apart from India, Thailand, Mexico, and Taiwan are among the key suppliers of mangoes to Tokyo. This year, though, Pakistan and Vietnam have also come up as alternative sources for the Japanese. Taiwan, too, has sent more consignments of the fruit to Tokyo.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADIndia exports a variety of mangoes. Alphonso, Banganapalli, Kesar, Langra, Chausa, and Malika mangoes are the most popular abroad. File image/AFP

Notably, this isn’t the first time that mangoes from India have been banned in Japan. In 1986, the Asian country had prohibited the import of the fruit due to reported fruit fly infestations. The ban remained in place for the next 20 years.

In June 2006, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that Japan had formally lifted the ban after confirming “that there is no risk of infiltration of diseases and pests through previous scientific and technical examinations”.

The ministry said the breakthrough followed repeated interventions by then Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who raised the issue with Japanese authorities and invited quarantine teams to India for inspections and on-site testing. Additionally, India complied with Japan’s demand for vapour heat treatment and conducted years of surveys to prove Indian mangoes were free from fruit fly infestation.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Japan allowing imports of Alphonso, Banganapalli, Kesar, Langra, Chausa, and Malika mangoes grown in approved regions across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

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With inputs from agencies

First Published:
May 28, 2026, 11:48 IST

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