After the United States, India has started exporting mangoes to Japan with the first consignment of one tonne of Banganpalli mangoes from Tirupati sent to Tokyo.

"India is exporting mangoes to Japan after a 20-year ban that was lifted for six varieties in June last year," Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh told reporters on Monday.

The first consignment of mangoes was sent to Japan on Sunday.

India would be exporting the six varieties of Alphonso, Banganpalli, Chausa, Kesar, Langda and Mallika, he said, adding that by end July, India hoped to export about 35-40 tonnes (70,000 mangoes) to Tokyo.

He said market access for Malda and Dushehari varieties are also now under review.

Observing that Andhra Pradesh accounts for 30 per cent of the country's mango production and 80 per cent of the mango pulp production, Ramesh said that the state governments should promote setting up of a mango growers cooperatives and involvement of women's Self Help Group to ensure that farmers get better price for their produce.

Each Banganpalli mango is expected to retail for Rs 200 in Japanese stores, he said.

The APEDA has established a vapour heat treatment plant at Vashi near Mumbai and is setting up three more at Tirupati, Nuzvid in Andhra Pradesh and at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh at an investment of Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) each.

Three vapour heat treatment plants have come up in the private sector at Chittoor, Thane and Nasik. The VHT plants are essential for treating Indian mangoes so that they meet Japanese health standards.

Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, about 6,000 acres of assigned lands of scheduled caste families in Chittoor district have come under mango cultivation in 2006-07 and another 15,000 acres is being taken up in 2007-08.

Banganpalli cultivation is being encouraged in these lands in preference to Totapuri, which goes entirely into pulp production.

Ramesh said the government is also negotiating with Australia to export Indian mangoes.

"We hope to succeed in this front by next year," Ramesh said.

Noting that the US has a large population of Indians from Andhra, Ramesh said the market potential for the Indian mangoes in the US is much more than Tokyo.

"Looking at the ethnic Telugu population in the US, Banganpalli has a ready market in the US and we should really push for it," he added.

Export of mangoes to the US has already started and the irradiation facility for processing mangoes to meet US health standards is located at Lasalgaon in Nashik.

He said if there is a demand for new irradiation facility in Andhra Pradesh, the Centre would help in setting up such a facility to meet the quality control requirements from other countries.