Mango: Exports can increase at least three times

HYDERABAD: Mango exports which earned the country $20 million last year can increase by three to four times if adequate facilities are provided, according to Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The international market buys Pakistani mangoes at 40 cents per kilogramme while India’s for $1.60 per kilogramme,” said HCCI chairman foreign trade committee Dr M Farid Qasim on Tuesday. He argued that the reason behind the price differential lies not with the quality produced rather the lack of ‘marketing, presentation and publicity’ of mangoes. Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of mangoes but its export ranking stands at the ninth place, according to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan data.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2011.