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."
