A DERBY business says that an EU ban on mangos is costing it money.
PAK Foods, on Normanton Road, used to sell 600 or 700 boxes of Alphonso mangos each day.
But the fruit, which costs £2.50 to £3.50 a box, has been banned due to fears of pests travelling on the foods that are flown in from the subcontinent.
Mohammed Abdul-Razaq, who buys the fruit for the company's fives stores across the East Midlands, said: "It is a big loss for us.
"It is a very popular fruit. They are very sweet and there are no others like it.
"People would buy them by the box, they are that well liked.
"We still have Pakistani mangos, which are very high quality, and are selling mangos from Brazil and Costa Rica but they are just not the same."
The ban began on May 1 and includes aubergines, two types of squash and a type of leaf used in Indian cooking.
It was brought in after non-European food pests were found in 207 shipments in 2013.
Indian mango exporters said they have now put checks in place and have approached the authorities in Brussels to try to get the ban lifted.
The UK imports about £6.3m worth of Indian mangoes per year.
Similar types of mango imported from Pakistan and Bangladesh have not been banned.
The premium Alphonso mangos were just coming into season as the ban came into force.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which voted to put the ban in place, is working with Indian authorities and the European Commission to try to get it lifted.
Mr Abdul-Razaq said: "A lot of our customers do not know that the ban is in place.
"I know that it is costing importers a lot of money and I think the ban should be lifted. "These mangoes have been sent all over the world for the past 30 years and there have been no health effects and it is only because of legislation from the EU that they are banned at the moment."
NINE-YEAR-OLD Amy Haywood is making final preparations to be Rammie's "special guest" at the iPro Stadium tomorrow.
The youngster was the winner of the Derby Telegraph and Derby County's competition to lead the players out of the tunnel during their play-off semi-final home leg against Brighton.
We asked our readers to send us photos of them roaring on the Rams for the chance to win this great prize – which included two tickets to the match.
Amy, of Hemington, will also enjoy a kickabout with Rammie on the pitch before the match starts and will have photos taken with Rams players at the side of the pitch after the warm-up.
She will then lead the team out of the tunnel with Rammie, have her photograph taken in the centre circle with the match officials and team captains and feature in a half-time penalty shoot-out with Rammie on the pitch.
Her mum, Lynn Ross, 42, said Amy was both nervous and excited about her role – after watching the Rams beat the Seagulls 2-1 in the away leg.
She said: "Amy is really looking forward to leading out the team and she took a copy of the paper into school to show her friends what she'd be doing.
"She's been talking a lot about it – I think she is a bit nervous. But she was really pleased with the result on Thursday and can't wait to cheer them on tomorrow."
JON Kirkham's Tsingtao Kawasaki boss has backed his man to come good in the British Superbike Championship.
The Ockbrook racer had a disastrous outing at Brands Hatch in the opening round, failing to score a point after suffering mild concussion when he crashed in practice.
But the 28-year-old was something like his old self at Oulton Park on Monday, when he racked up steady ninth and tenth places.
Team owner Dave Tyson said: "Jon did a great job. He's a bit disappointed that he didn't get to chase for a top seven but that's just how he is.
"He's a competitive and very talented rider and we've seen him climb higher each time he's gone out.
"After missing most of Brands Hatch, it was always going to be a tough one but he's come back strong and showed the rest of them he can be a contender this year.
"As a team, we're strong and we're all excited about what the rest of the season has in store."
Jacksdale's Kyle Ryde continued his good form in the British Superstock 600 series, bringing his Racedayz Yamaha home in fifth place at Oulton.
The former British 125cc champion is now fourth in the points standings.
John Surtees, the only man to win world championships on two and four wheels, was reunited with a Lola Can-Am car he had not driven since 1968 when he was guest of honour at the Donington Historic Festival.
DARLEY Moor hosts the Thundersprint today and tomorrow and one thing is certain – there has never been such a wide range of GP stars, young and old, gathered at one single event.
Heading the list at the Ashbourne track is Scott Redding, who has been setting the MotoGP world on fire.
He said: "I have ridden at the Thundersprint twice before and I honestly loved every minute of it. GP racing is a serious business – very serious indeed.
"My mind is entirely focused on winning and I really do miss the chance to mix with fans.
"The Thundersprint is a giant two-day party for anyone who loves bikes and, best of all, I've got the time to talk to fans, have photographs taken and be with them socially. In fact, all the things I love but can't do at a GP."
Sharing the track with Redding will be World Supersport champion Sam Lowes, now competing in Moto2, ex-world 250cc and 350cc champion Jim Redman and Isle of Man TT ace John McGuinness.
THE trust aiming to return Derby's Hippodrome theatre to its former glory wants the city council to review its decision not to spend money on the building in the wake of the Assembly Rooms fire.
One of the Hippodrome Restoration Trust's directors, Peter Steer, said helping refurbish the building could save the authority cash if it wants to improve the city's arts offer.
He was speaking three weeks after it was announced that the Assembly Rooms car park blaze on March 14 meant the venue would be closed for at least 18 months.
The council is considering whether to refurbish or replace the current building.
In October last year, the authority said it would spend no more money to help the trust with its plans, citing "unprecedented reductions in council budgets by the Government".
The Hippodrome was badly damaged in 2008 after its owner, Christopher Anthony, ordered work which led to its partial demolition.
Mr Steer said now was the time for the council to look again at helping refurbish the Hippodrome as a 1,000-plus seat theatre for the city – and to refurbish the Assembly Rooms as a separate "events venue".
The largest theatre currently in the city is Derby Theatre, with a capacity of 535 in its main auditorium. Mr Steer said: "The city needs an events centre like the Assembly Rooms for presentations, banquets, receptions, promotions, Ken Dodd and the like and big bands.
"But the principle of the design of the Assembly Rooms in the 1970s as being 'all things for all people' does not work.
"Theatrical productions need stage and back-of-house facilities that cannot be provided in the present building.
"Demolishing and rebuilding the Assembly Rooms as a theatre would cost £50 million-plus with unknown problems in creating new foundations.
"Refurbishing and upgrading the existing building could be £20 million-plus whatever costs that may have arisen from the recent fire.
"A new theatre, such as a rebuilt Hippodrome, would cost £25 million. Simple arithmetic shows that this two building approach, at say £45 million, would cost less than building a new theatre in the Market Place."
Mr Steer was speaking after the trust confirmed it has requested the Government put pressure on the city council to issue a compulsory purchase order so the authority could buy the site. It hopes the council would then agree a deal where the Trust could refurbish it.
The city council would not comment on Mr Steer's idea.
AT least 65 jobs will be created after McDonald's was given permission to open a two-storey restaurant next to the Blue Jay pub in Derby.
But there are still concerns about the decision to open the outlet in that area.
A McDonald's spokesman said the new restaurant represented a "significant investment" for the fast food giant.
He said: "It will create at least 65 new jobs, both full and part-time.
"We are working with Derby City Council to progress plans, but there is no timetable as yet for opening.
"Those employed at the restaurant will have access to leading training schemes and the opportunity to gain nationally-recognised qualifications including a Level 2 Apprenticeship and a Foundation Degree in Managing Business Operations."
The restaurant will cater for 160 people and have a car park with 31 bays and storage space for 10 bikes.
Councillor Mark Tittley, who represents Alvaston ward, said he believed a fast food restaurant was not necessarily the best thing for the area.
Mr Tittley added: "People enjoy McDonald's food, including myself, from time to time.
"But the fact remains that we want to encourage the development of Alvaston District Centre and putting in another fast food outlet in terms of the overall offer of the area is not necessarily a good thing."
During the consultation period for the new restaurant, one Alvaston resident wrote to the council to raise concerns that access to the Blue Jay site via his mobility scooter involved facing oncoming traffic to get into the car park.
The McDonald's spokesman said: "We have introduced dropped kerbs and tactile paving on all crossing points within the McDonald's site.
"And we have also agreed to connect our site to the existing cycle network to the west.
"This will enable full pedestrian access."
No-one at the Blue Jay was available to comment.
But assistant manager Emma Gill previously said she believed the McDonald's could bring more people to the pub.
She said: "People who didn't know we were here would see us if they come to McDonald's.
"There's the new Heineken site opening up as well, so things are looking positive for the area."
McDonald's trades from six restaurants in Derby already.
The council also received one letter of support for the new eatery.
News of the planned development comes after it was confirmed last August that a multi-million pound drinks distribution centre would be built at the nearby Derby Commercial Park.
McDonald's has also been granted permission to build a new "drive thru" lane and 13 car parking bays at its restaurant next to Markeaton Park.
