us high cost of certification for mango exports in july 2014 india raised its concerns on the high cost of certification for mango exports to the united states. since april 2007 india had been granted access to export mangoes to the united states on the basis that its mangoes would first be irradiated under the supervision of us inspectors to mitigate the risk of fruit flies and stone weevil. india noted the high cost of certification that it had to bear which involved funding the travel and accommodation of us inspectors at the irradiation facility and other us officials involved in the process at various other locations. these costs reflected 12 of the fob costs per metric ton of mangoes exported to the united states. india requested that the united states recognize indias conformity assessment procedures as was done for organic certification or find other means to reduce the costs and enable indian mangoes to remain competitive in the us market. failure to find a solution could result in loss of indias market share. the united states noted that india had been the first country to shi irradiated commodities to the united states and that the value of these exports had steadily grown reaching us 1.6 million dollars in 2013. several efforts had been undertaken to reduce the costs of the preclearance programme such as collaboration on budget and financial issues. the united states had also amended its regulations to facilitate the importation of indian mangoes by allowing irradiation upon arrival in the united states. the united states requested india to submit a formal request for amendment of the us operational work plan. in october 2014 india reiterated its concern regarding the high cost of certification for mango exports to the united states. since 2007 india had been granted access to export mangoes to the united states on the basis that they would be irradiated under the supervision of us inspectors to mitigate the risk of fruit flies and stone weevil and noted they had shipped 1 600 metric tons of mangos to the united states. india noted that bearing the high cost of certification rendered its mangoes uncompetitive. while a trust fund had been created india had suggested preclearance by the national plant protection authorities which had not been agreed on. in previous meetings the united states had offered irradiation upon arrival which however would result in an economically unfeasible situation. taking into account the past seven years of indian mango exports to the united states india requested mutual recognition of equivalence of mango certification and conformity assessment procedures in order to reduce costs and to facilitate trade as had been done for organic certification. the dominican republic expressed its support for indias concern and requested further information from the united states on the costs of import procedures. the united states recalled that india had been the first country to export irradiated mangoes to the united states. while the value of indian mango exports had risen every year since the united states had attempted to accommodate indias concern by amending its legislation for irradiation upon importation to lower the costs of clearance. the united states reiterated that it was looking forward to receiving further proposals from india on how to lower the costs of mango clearance. in march 2015 india reiterated its concern regarding the high cost of certification for mango exports to the united states. in previous meetings the united states had offered the possibility of irradiation upon arrival. this solution had been discussed in a bilateral meeting held on 3 to 4 march 2015. india requested that the united states circulate a draft work plan for the irradiation upon arrival requirement. the united states reported that the bilateral discussion in march 2015 had been productive. two options had been discussed 1 expansion of the current irradiation programme for mangoes and pomegranates in india th