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RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 6729

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 001902 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD EAID PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: MANGO UPDATE 
 
REF: 07 ISLAMABAD 00701 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 6, the Foreign Agricultural Service 
(FAS) hosted the third digital video conference (DVC) with the 
Pakistani Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MINFA) and USDA's office 
of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to discuss the 
next steps towards U.S. market access for Pakistani mangoes. 
Stalled for over a year, GOP officials were dismayed to learn during 
the DVC that APHIS now proposes to irradiate Pakistani mangoes in 
the United States upon arrival, rather than using the newly-equipped 
irradiation facility outside of Lahore - built at the suggestion of 
the USG.  The subject of discussion at the Trade and Investment 
Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting in April 2009 and the 
U.S.-Pakistan Afghanistan Trilateral discussions in May 2009, Post 
strongly recommends that the U.S. renew good faith efforts to 
fulfill this outstanding POTUS commitment, while at the same time 
building capacity within Pakistan's National Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (NAPHIS) and the domestic horticultural product 
export industry.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) FAS hosted GOP officials from MINFA's National Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service and Department of Plant Protection 
to participate in a DVC with USDA officials from APHIS on August 6. 
The DVC served to introduce the new APHIS team to the GOP as well as 
to discuss the status and next steps of Pakistan mango exports to 
the U.S.- a POTUS commitment that remains outstanding.   The GOP is 
eager to move the preclearance process forward as it has stalled 
since 2007. 
 
The Process 
----------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In order for Pakistani companies to export mangoes to the 
United States, the GOP must formally apply to APHIS for market 
access.  The lengthy and complicated approval process begins with a 
Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) which lists the various pests associated 
with the fruit and recommended methods to mitigate the pest risk 
prior to shipping.  The draft PRA was completed in 2006.  To 
complete the process, APHIS and the GOP must agree on a formal 
written pest list and confirm that irradiation is the chosen 
mitigation measure, thus accepting the Pest Risk Assessment.  Upon 
receipt of that letter, APHIS will begin the administrative process 
to approve mangoes for importation into the United States. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The administrative process starts with a Federal Register 
notice which allows the public to comment for 60 days on the 
proposed market access from the date of publication.  APHIS must 
address any comments prior to issuing import permits. 
 
Irradiation: In Pakistan or the U.S.? 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) While the administrative process is underway, the GOP must 
also receive USDA approval for its irradiation program.  There are 
two paths that Pakistan can take.  The first option is to irradiate 
mangoes in Pakistan; the second option, newly-proposed during the 
DVC, is to irradiate mangoes upon arrival in the United States. 
Although the GOP indicated they will pursue both options to 
determine the most cost-effective scenario, they were absolutely 
clear that Pakistan prefers the previously-proffered deal to 
irradiate mangoes in Pakistan in the facility recently constructed 
near Lahore based on past USG recommendations. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In October 2007, the GOP and USDA signed a Framework 
Equivalency Work Plan, the first step towards receiving USDA export 
approval.  The next step is for APHIS to send a team to Pakistan for 
several months to conduct field inspections and to certify the 
facility to ensure system integrity based on international 
standards.  The APHIS inspection team must inspect the entire mango 
export process, from harvesting at the orchard, to irradiating, to 
exporting for the entire four-month mango season.  APHIS requires a 
security assessment, conducted in coordination with the Embassy RSO, 
to determine the logistics, costs, and feasibility of sending said 
team for this inspection and certification process.  (Comment: 
ECON/FAS will coordinate with APHIS and Embassy RSO to facilitate 
the security assessment).  Once the security assessment is completed 
 
ISLAMABAD 00001902  002 OF 003 
 
 
and approved, the GOP must officially apply for facility 
certification then an APHIS team would be dispatched to begin the 
Preclearance Process and develop an Operational Work Plan (OWP). 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The GOP has installed a new, Canadian-designed irradiation 
facility that is currently processing mangoes for export to Northern 
Europe, Canada and the Gulf.  Paying a facility in the United States 
to perform the same function might not make economic sense.  It 
would also be expensive in terms of the additional time within the 
stateside marketing chain required to transport perishable fruit to 
and from the U.S.-based facility.  Furthermore, there could be 
import delays and customs issues with a non-irradiated product that 
an irradiated product would not face.  Finally, the irradiation 
process could be applied to other products, such as dried fruit, 
vegetables and other foodstuffs -- not just mangoes. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Irradiating the mangoes in the United States is a 
short-term solution.  Under this scenario, Pakistani companies would 
export mangoes to the United States and the importer would ship the 
product to an irradiation plant for the fee-based process.  Only 
then would the importer begin the distribution process.  This option 
would not require a security assessment nor would it require the 
costly Preclearance Inspections and Certifications carried out by 
APHIS officials in Pakistan over several months prior to and during 
the mango season.  The major benefit of this option would be to 
serve as a trial period to introduce Pakistani mangoes into the U.S. 
market without making the significant financial commitment required 
of the complete Preclearance process. 
 
It's Not Just about the U.S. 
---------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) For GOP officials, U.S. market access is not as important 
as being able to assure other potential importing countries that the 
United States has certified Pakistani mangoes as safe.  Having the 
seal of approval from the U.S. Government could provide a 
significant boost to Pakistan's fruit export industry during a 
period when the USG is looking for all means to improve Pakistan's 
agricultural economy.  All parties agree that Pakistani mangoes are 
similar to Indian mangoes and would not have a large market in the 
U.S. where less-expensive mangoes can be found from Central and 
South America. 
 
¶10. (SBU) It is estimated that a Pakistani mango would cost about 
USD 6 at the U.S. retail level -- as compared to approximately USD 1 
for a mango from Central America.  GOP officials point to a 
potential niche market of expatriate Pakistanis who will pay this 
cost for Pakistani mangoes, but acknowledge that the U.S. will not 
replace their main export markets in Europe and the Gulf States. 
Currently, Pakistan exports 20,000 kilos of mangoes to France; 
18,000 kilos to the Gulf States; 5,000 kilos to the United Kingdom; 
and 2,000 kilos to Canada - all facilitated through the new 
irradiation facility in Lahore. 
 
Moving Forward 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The GOP agreed to provide the agreed-upon pest list and 
written confirmation that the GOP will use irradiation as the chosen 
pest mitigation measure.  While progressing through the market 
access procedures, the GOP will make a formal request for 
irradiation preclearance.  Furthermore, the GOP will develop an 
Operational Work Plan to address issues such as pretreatment 
requirements, treatment facility activities, export/import 
documentation, and penalty provisions. 
 
¶12. (SBU) APHIS agreed that, once they received the requested formal 
documentation from the GOP, they will initiate the administrative 
process including the Federal Register announcement for public 
review and comment.  APHIS also agreed to provide GOP officials with 
a sample request for irradiation preclearance to speed up the 
certification process, as well as information on irradiation 
treatment facilities in the United States, should the GOP choose 
that option. 
 
 
ISLAMABAD 00001902  003 OF 003 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) GOP officials are very eager to move forward on this issue 
and are concerned that the process has actually moved in reverse in 
the last year: the Framework Equivalency Work Plan was signed two 
years ago and in a December 2006 DVC, APHIS and GOP officials had 
already agreed that irradiation was the best method in eradicating 
the pests (reftel).  Acting on that guidance, the GOP has focused 
all of its efforts on its now-fully-functional irradiation facility. 
 While delay in the arrival of the necessary Cobalt 60 (a required 
component for the irradiation facility) on the Pakistani side and 
security concerns on the U.S. side caused Pakistan to miss the 
initial export target date of 2008 (reftel), suggesting at this 
stage that Pakistan should irradiate in the U.S. rather than at the 
costly new facility we recommended they build is a significant and 
unhelpful policy shift.  End Comment. 
 
PATTERSON