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Japan clears
way for Hawaii
mangoes

The lifting of the import ban
is expected to give a boost to the
state's agricultural industry

From staff and wire reports

Japan has lifted an import ban on Hawaii mangoes, a move that state officials say should help create a commercial niche for local farmers.

The Keitt and Hayden mango varieties were approved last month by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for import, state officials said yesterday. The fruit must first be treated for fruit flies using a vapor heat process similar to that used for Hawaii papayas.

"The lifting of the prohibition on mangoes in Japan is a great triumph for Hawaii's tropical fruit industry," said James Nakatani, Hawaii Board of Agriculture chairman. "We now need to concentrate on efforts to optimize the growth potential for the mango industry."

By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Mike Soares examines some of the mangoes
on his tree in Pauoa earlier this year.

Clearance by Japan will likely encourage local farmers to grow more mangoes for export. Hawaii has about 240 acres planted in mango, with 85 acres harvestable, according to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service.

Most of Hawaii's mangoes are grown in back yards or in the wild and are consumed locally. Because of the previously limited market, the state has very few acres in commercial mango production. It takes five to seven years before trees bear marketable fruit, not an investment many farmers would make without assurances of export markets, officials say.

Hawaii's mango crop currently is worth less than $200,000, said Lyle Wong, administrator of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Industry Division.

"Finally, we'll be in a position to produce mango on a commercial scale," Wong said yesterday.

The first significant quantity of mangoes should be ready for export later this month or early next month, he said.

Also, the state should receive clearance by the end of this year to export mangoes to the U.S. mainland, further boosting the industry, officials say. That is because the state will use irradiation to eliminate a mango weevil that is banned on the mainland.

Wong predicts many idle sugar lands may soon be growing mangoes. He said mangoes grow best in drier areas, such as Oahu's Waianae coast, Maui's Lahaina coast, Kauai and the Big Island's Ka'u region.