The disappointment of Pakistani exporters is understandable as the US remains the most important destination for mango exporters with an annual demand of 200,000 tons. PHOTO: FILE
With the season around the corner, expats living in the US might, once again, wonder whether they will be able to buy Pakistani mangoes from their local grocery stores this year. Unfortunately, the short answer would be no.
Despite some advancement in processing technology, Pakistan has yet to reach the standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to tap the world’s largest market.
In a recent interview with a major mango exporter, Babar Khan Durrani, CEO at Pakistan Horti Fresh Processing (Pvt.) Ltd, it was learnt that technological advancements, which opened up new markets for Pakistani mangoes, were helpful but still fail to meet USDA standards.
Previously, the country had been exporting mangoes to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Iran, Jordan and the UK. After acquiring the hot water treatment (HWT) technology in 2012, the country was able to enter new markets in Lebanon, South Korea, Australia and Mauritius, while
New Zealand and South Africa are likely to be added to the list this season.
Durrani said they have recently imported an automatic plant from the Netherlands. The plant not only processes but does the packaging and sizing of the mangoes as well and has an ultra violet ray function to separate the damaged or infected mangoes from those deemed fit for human consumption.
Mangoes can cause nine types of diseases – fruit flies, their eggs and larva being the most dangerous. The HWT technology kills them all, Durrani claims, which is why Australia that has one of the world’s toughest regulation standards opened up its market for Pakistani mangoes.
Besides HWT, growers have taken steps to protect their mangoes at the farm level. For example, they import special bags from Australia and Korea and wrap them around the fruit just when it blossoms – this protects the mangoes from fruit flies, Durrani says.
While the current technology has helped our mangoes reach more markets, including some developed ones, the exporters are barred from exporting Pakistani mangoes to the US via sea.
The disappointment of Pakistani exporters is understandable because the US remains the most important destination for mango exporters all over the world with an annual demand of 200,000 tons a year - 60,000 tons higher than Pakistan’s total exports, which were recorded at 140,000 tons in fiscal 2013.
Durrani argues that Pakistan has the same processing technology as Mexico does but the latter can export their mangoes via sea. He says better diplomacy from both sides can resolve this issue.
While Durrani believes it is a diplomatic matter, Washington disagrees.
HWT and Vapor Heat Treatment are used in some countries but fruit flies in those countries are different from those in Pakistan, Spokesperson for US Consulate General Karachi Andrew L. Armstrong told The Express Tribune.
Mexico and the US are in the same geographical region – the former’s pests, therefore, don’t pose a threat to the American crops but Pakistan’s do. It is for this reason that the US has not approved of the same treatment for Pakistani mangoes.
“Fruit flies and other pests present in Pakistan, but not in the US, must be killed in order to prevent them from harming fruit and vegetable crops in the US,” Armstrong said.
To address this problem, Islamabad and Washington agreed that irradiation was the best treatment, according to Armstrong. In 2010, both countries agreed that the best option was to utilise irradiation facilities in the US. To facilitate this, the USDA created a first of its kind system to allow safe import and irradiation of Pakistani mangoes in the US. Currently, one private facility in Iowa is available for irradiation of mangoes from Pakistan.
But this option is economically not viable for Pakistani exporters. Treating Pakistan’s mangoes in the US is not only costlier but also riskier, according to Waheed Ahmed – another major player in the mango export business.
A pre-clearance might have been the other option. However, the spokesman said the USDA has determined that a preclearance program is not possible at this time because it requires a USDA inspector to be present in Pakistan for the entire season and carry out various inspections – this would only raise the costs for exporters. Under the current scenario, there is perhaps only one option.
“We need at least two irradiation plants — one each in Karachi and Multan,” Waheed said. Since one plant costs around $2 million, he said, they asked for the government’s support but the latter did not bother.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (58)
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I love Pakistani Mangoes.Let’s put it this way- the Americans lose out on the best mangoes in the world. Their loss!
Great post keep up the good work.Thanks for sharing.
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Next week Mangoes will export to USA after 2011 First shipments quantity will be 3000 kilo & than follow up every Week with Volume of 8000 kilo First Mangoes will make access to Texas & than after 2 weeks will be New York Inshallah this Year Ramazan Fasting will be done by Pakistani Chaunsa
Then do not ship to USA. They are trying to bully Pakistan. The traders who make money are kneeling abd begging because they make the money. Pay no attention, one, twice, three times and the school yard soon realises his tactics do not work. There is a lesson here from Cuba and their cigars. Been banned in USA for decades and guess who the biggest consumers are? The Americans. It costs them more to get the cigares via the longer route
@Nadir Khan Durrani: I will add that I also have experience of the Mediterranean fruit fly's first appearance in California, and the consternation it caused to California agriculture. The fruit fly present in Pakistan and India, I gather, is not one we presently have. Hence, all necessary precautions to prevent it being carried to this country in crates of mangoes are appropriate. I would hope that this does not entirely rice Pakistani mangoes out of the US market. Perhaps they could be sold as premium items, like Japanese Fuji apples, each in its own paper basket . . .
@Nadir Khan Durrani: I leave to you the economics of it, but if Pakistan and India were to agree upon free trade (as contemplated by the SAARC agreements and the falsely-labeled Tariff Equality/Most-Favored-Nation) WTO agreements), then Pakistani mangoes would not incur a tariff when entering India. Nor, do I think, that US Dept of Agriculture would consider the mango an Indian product. India would obtain some value-added advantage, but that could be readily avoided by building an irradiation plant in Multan. Nor is $2M very much for a plant in this day and age. Add a $1 to the first 2M mangoes. I say this as one once resident in Multan, knowledgeable of the delicious Pakistani mango, and hopeful of someday eating another.
I thought Hina Rabbani Khar did get a visa...
Folks..these treatment plants costs a mere two million bucks. I am surprised these exporters don't have access to that kind of money (or financing) in order to get access to the world's largest market.
Some Pakistani varieties, especially, the Chaunsa have unparalleled taste and aroma in the world. The potential is immense but I wonder why it is so hard for the the exporters to acquire the appropriate technology through financing. Two million dollars should not be that big a deal.
Pakistani fruit flies are different and dangerous and not comparable to fruit flies from India or Mexico. The fruit flies tend to attack the consumer and can often blow themselves up thus causing significant injury to the consumer.
@Hasan Mehmood: We get Chaunsa in India aswell as well as Lungra, Dasheri, Malika, Bombay Green, Alphonsa and many other varieties in India. Im pretty sure the Pakistani varieties are pretty awsome aswell. I would have to agree though that you cant compare mangoes that are normally imported into Europe and the US to the ones back home. The variety as well as sweetness just cant be compared to mangoes that are direct from the orchard or bought during season which ripe naturally..
Im speaking from experience of living in Europe and the US as well as my grandfather having a mango orchard in India. Eitherway I miss the Mangoes from home cause the ones in the Indian and Pakistani stores just dont cut it and I eat them more out of lack of better options.
@everyone There is already an irradiation plant operating in Lahore run by the govt under PAEC it is located on Multan road I think 14 kms off Thokar Niaz Beg. Anyways the problem is the protocol set by the US. According to the US standards set for Pakistani mango the cargo has to land at O'Hare in Chicago, be loaded onto trucks while also having a 5 million dollar Insurance cover in case of fruit fly damage across the highway oh and the highway is also designated from O'Hare to the plant, and then driven 500 miles to Sioux City Iowa be irradiated and be ready for distribution. With major Pakistani diaspora located along the east coast, chicago areas and texas, this proves extremely costly as the fruit will then have to be brought back to chicago. There are plently of irradiation plants in and around chicago where all this can be done at a much cheaper cost and also not having transportation costs of a 1000 mile journey minimum to the designated plant and back, so therefor in conclusions the conditions set by the US for the import of Pakistani mango means you basically cannot import to sell since it makes it economically not possible. Whereas India and Thailand can have their mangoes irradiated in the host country before sending them to an airport of their choice thus reducing costs significantly, since pakistan and india have the same kind of pests would it not be prudent to have the same conditions for import? The only thing standing in the way of this is for USDA To visit the plant in lahore and approve it something that they have not been able to do since Mush's time despite various commitments.
@Syed Hasan Atizaz:
Rubbish. Irradiated fruit doesn't taste different but does extend shelf life. . http://ccr.ucdavis.edu/irr/what4.shtml
For those who think the USA is picking on Pakistan - read this article which outlines the same irradiation requirements for India. http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/announcements/guidelinesmangoesto_usa.pdf
@optimist: I think you visit US through google. LOL
@IndianTroll: You are right in your observation. I am based in GULF and believe me the Indian varieties except Alphonso are inferior to the top three or four Pakistani varieties. There is no Indian equivalent to Chaunsa which you need to eat to believe the taste and texture. However in marketing, display, freshness and import logistics, Indian produce is way ahead.
Arabs don't know to produce any mangoes and U.S. is aware of the same fact. now, for economics, since they have started, would they be trusting of the original quality or the fake one?
adopting such modern ways will not only effect the taste of these mangoes but the additional cost the farmer undergo will going to be troublesome., It will be in favor of Pakistan to stick with conventional method, which will ensure taste and quality both.
@Be Careful:
Exactly. I don't know about now, but four years back when I was in Canada, Pakistani chaunsa was available at select stores. You know how much it cost? $8 for a box of six mangoes, that's well over a dollar each or Rs 130 per mango! It's several times more expensive than the Mexican Alfonso mangoes that are most commonly available in North American markets.
US only wants to see Pakistan a beggar and US' aid dependent country this is why US opposes every step Pakistan takes for being an economically strong and prosperous country....
lol @ the idea of Pakistani mangoes being processed at Indian irradiation facilities. Do you think India and Indian exporters are that naive to allow Pakistani exporters to capture their share in the US market by using the irradition facilities in India?
I think there may be a different regulations to import different kind of fruits into to the US. It is understandable to have strict rules for any fruit that can be and usually eaten or consumed without peeling e.g Grapes, Apples, Strawberries etc. etc. But for Oranges, Bananas and Mangoes no one eats without peeling therefore different rules may be applicable. There is a need to explore further on those lines. How come the same mangos or any other fruit that gets into the tin packs, can enter the US from all over the world. Food for thought !
Great News. Now there would be some mangoes left for us at home to eat because they export most of the good quality mango to other countries instead of serving the people at home first
Plant Quarantine Certain plants and plant product cannot ? be export Why prohibited or restricted by law In order to prevent large variety of foreign pest and diseases .that carry the potential to cause severe damage to globally Agriculture & Forestry Most fruits and vegetables from countries and regions in which Mediterranean fruit flies and / or Oriental fruit flies are found cannot be brought into any part of our world .Facts are Fruit fly larva feed inside the fruit that play host to such larvae may be severely damaged under the skin while appearing normal on the outside .People who want to export must take advice please inquire with your country or plant protection stations or visit their website .From my R & D on Pakistan plant Quarantine I found that they dont invest on Plant Quarantine & Lab they think by buying a machine or machinery they can export the truth is their High Brass are with out a job walking on the streets with their know how no one cares for them most of them are Master Dr Phd even in Japan we dont have so many Phd in Agriculture with nothing to do not even a Lab or a room for them to work on such matters all the want fast high speed $ Import Inspection is must for export .. .
Why are you not allowing comments on the news item about Muslims rioting and destroying properties and livelihood of tiny Hindu minorities in Sindh and Balochistan? Very strange. Day in and day out there are articles in this paper claiming "discrimination" against Muslims in India.
Why don't Pakistan just send its mangoes to India, after all we got better resources and infrastructure to make SA's proud fruit of export level, so that we can together create a monopolistic market for EU/US. But again, how can Pakistanis join in hand together with India? That would be so destructive for the very motto of the two nation theory...:p
So do we get to eat export-quality mangoes this summer? :)
Ooh, I am missing multani mangoes (langra, chonsa, anwar atol) in USA. Mexican mangoes are no where near our mangoes, even Sindhri are better than mexican ones.
@ahnum: Actually, this is not something one should feel nationalistic about. Pakistani mangoes are tastier than Indian mangoes - at least insofar as the varieties that I have tasted. It is a shame really. As one blogger pointed out, India would have been a ready market for Pakistani produce if only Pakistan followed the China-India equation.
@Observer:
Your proposal doesn't make any business sense. To use Indian Irrdiation Plant we have to export Mangoes to India. Since India itself is exporter and producer of Mango there is import duty for any imported Mango. We have to pay high duty to export mango to India. Apart from that, there is transportation cost involved to carry mangoes to India. Thirdly, certificate of origin will be made of India, since goods will be exported from India, so it will never be called as the export of Pakistan. So business wise your proposal doesn't works.
@Be Careful:
Pakistan exports less than 150,000 tons and it has a production of more than 1.5 Million tons. So the export is not even 10%
@unbelievable:
What fruit fly are you talking about? Have you checked mexican mango that comes to USA from the borders? All surrounded with Fruit fly.. i have seen it myself. Yes USDA funded stupid Hot water washing plants too fool farmers which was of no use. A plant that has 5 minutes mango treatment capacity. Mango needs atleast 60minutes treatment at 48 degree celcius to get rid of mainly Fruit Fly. Irradiation is an expensive solution and need high investment. Its only USA that asks for Irradiation, and we do not suggest to do such high investment for one market that is USA..
Let's put it this way- the Americans lose out on the best mangoes in the world. Their loss.
@Kashif: You gave me a good laugh. Your words have a lot of truth in them. We should only deal with countries who want to deal with us. No Pakistani mangoes for ingrates.
Now I know where I heard the term 'Amreekan Sundi'. Uncle sam is sending us their bugs through its wheat or other produce but doesn't want our bugs!
Trust me, no match of Pakistan mango in the world. always, best.
200,000 tons a year – 70% higher than Pakistan’s total exports, which were recorded at 140,000 tons in fiscal 2013. The math doesnt add up. Hows 60,000 70% more lol
Hypocrisy from us. Has anyone heard of American sundi. How it arrived here?. Off course through imported us seeds. Latin Americans have a strong lobby in us , they won't allow any tax exemptions/favors like Europe did recently on textile goods.
Even then Man goes to Washington on an extended Visa. Wit apart mangoes are King of fruits and Fruit for Kings...Yankees don't know the edible value of it.
There is a huge market for Pakistan mangoes in the European countries!
Rex Minor
first it was a brain drain, now, mango drain?
Maybe an exporter can float a debenture or sukkuk to finance the construction of the plant? Perhaps the returns from a treatment plant are too low for such a course of action.
@ Be Careful Or make Mango juice and sell it expensive as value added... no flies in juice argument!
India has USDA approved mango irradiation facilities and has excess capacity. Pakistan could avail the use of these Indian facilities at a much cheaper costs than the US irradiation facilities. Then again, logic and economic sense never registers with the Pakistani establishment.
There are lots of top class mangoes available in the US. Pakistan is not the only game in town especially if there are health issues and its produce are questionable. http://listdose.com/top-10-mango-varieties-types/
Pakistan is fourth largest producer of mangoes at less than 2 million or close to Mexico vs India with more than 15 million. There are several top-class mangoes that we never heard about in Pakistan. The International buyer has a wide choices and they don't take chances. We have to compete and it would require modernity and hard work not self-praise or emotions. Let us hope we can be more competitive and earn the business. http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/mango-producing-countries.html
Why US is so hard to please? You visit anywhere in Europe or Australia and you don't get upset stomach (after living in the west for some time). . US is the only developed country where you can get upset stomach after eating out. You see roadside stalls selling food with obviously bad conditions (they are very popular). I think these are just indirect trade sanctions.... nothing to do with food safety!
well thats obviously because indian mangoes are tastier thaan pakstani.
Lets people of Pakistan enjoy this fruit with cheap prices. Not really a bad news...
Uncle Sam is a great friend! He won't let you buy gas from Iran nor nuclear technology from China. If you try to build a consensus on Thar Coal project or Kala Bagh damn, Uncle's rats in media will make sure to create fuss at such a huge level that your dreams remain dreams. Uncle Sam is always the first to nominate you as responsible for any kind of unusual incident that happens to be anywhere on this planet. Such as you hijacked Malaysian Airliner this month !! Too bad Pakistanis too bad !! O yes, Uncle will give you aid money but will also make sure that you lose at least 10 times more than that in the form of collateral damage, opportunity costs or implicit dependency on them to buy Oil. What a pitiful circle of life for Pakistan!.
I would prefer to keep Pakistani mangoes in Pakistan for our own consumption. Exports have already made them too expensive for common people. Making nutritionist things out of reach of common people and then showing malnutrition effects to gain sympathy of the world does not make any sense.
They're missing out. For real.
He says better diplomacy from both sides can resolve this issue. . Rubbish - this isn't a diplomatic issue. Fruit fly infestation is a big deal and States like California actually stop and inspect vehicles crossing their borders and won't allow fruits and certain vegetables across the state line. As I recall the USA funded a program a couple years ago to help Pakistani farmers understand the steps necessary to export mangoes to the USA - irradiation and other requirements were clearly outlined. Pakistani farmers want either the USA or Pakistani govt to foot the bill for irradiation - but that doesn't make much sense since the farmers are the ones who reap the benefits of higher sales. In other countries which face similar issues the farmers create cooperatives to purchase expensive equipment.
While Durrani believes it is a diplomatic matter, Washington disagrees.`
This is the problem with Pakistan. Don't follow any rules and hope for a "wink-wink" solution.
US concern about pests in South Asian mangoes is nothing new. India faced the same problem and set up a state-of-the art facility back in 2009. If relations with India were better, Pakistan could have trans-shipped the mangoes to the US via India.
Good...no mangoos for US only us.
Don't over-export or the fruit would become too expensive for the locals.