WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed five members to serve on the National Mango Board. Each representative will complete a three-year term of office beginning Jan. 1, 2013.
Newly appointed board members include first handler Mariana Gonzalez of Edinburg, Texas; importer Daniel Pollak of Wall, N.J.; and foreign producers Tomas Paulin Quezada of Armeria Colima, Mexico and Eddy Martinez of Guatemala City, Guatemala. Importer Ronald Cohen, of Fort Lee, N.J., was reappointed to the board.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight of the board in accordance with the Commodity Promotion Research, and Information Act of 1996 and the Mango Promotion, Research and Information Order. Under the order, first handlers and importers pay an assessment at the rate of three quarters of a cent per pound on all mangos. The Board administers a national promotion, research and information program to maintain and expand markets for mangos.
The National Mango Board is authorized based on the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Action of 1996. The program is administered by board members, who are selected by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and funded through industry member assessments. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual commodities in the United States and abroad. They allow commodity groups to conduct promotion, market and production research, and new product development for the benefit of their industries. For more information about research and promotion programs, visit www.ams.usda.gov/FVPromotion.
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