Lodhran’s white chaunsa emerges as new favourite

Juicy fruit gaining popularity for unique, natural taste

LODHRAN:

Lodhran’s white chaunsa, a variant of the local mango crop, has become the new favourite among mango lovers in the country as well as countries around the world.

The mango variant, belonging to South Punjab including Lodhran, has seen its sales boom, giving it a new recognition around the world for its unique taste. Reportedly, the white chaunsa mango grown in Lodhran is unique because of its taste.

The country’s mangoes, primarily those grown in the province, need no introduction as they remain a favourite among other countries who import Pakistani mangoes. However, the white chaunsa had now become the new identity of the Lodhran region.

Owing to the country’s favourable climate, Pakistan is the fifth largest producer in the world of the mango crop. Different types of mangoes were being produced in the country.

This year, the export target had been set at 160,000 tonnes which was expected to bring total foreign exchange worth US$120 million. In the Multan division, the area under cultivation was 119,395 acres of land while the production of mango crop was 642,402 tonnes.

Read Mangoes being exported to Australia, Japan

Lodhran district’s mango cultivation on 2,760 acres of land produced 14,700 tonnes of the crop. If the quality of fruits is improved in line with the demand of international markets, there is ample scope for increasing their exports.

The average yield of tall mango varieties including malda, langra, sindhri, chaunsa and fajri is 150 kgs to 260 kgs while the average yield of medium and small size varieties is 50 kgs to 150 kgs per plant. It is time for mango growers to adopt modern mango production and postharvest technology and pay full attention to the timely performance of the necessary matters to maintain the high quality of the fruit.

The samar chaunsa of Lodhran, also known as the white chaunsa, was an example of its kind. Its unique taste was increasing becoming a favourite all over the world. One of the main reasons for this is that its natural ingredients preserve the taste and no commercial flavours or packet have been used to prepare this mango product.

Reportedly, this mango is ready to eat without the need for adding any preservatives or other additives. Due to the growing demand of the white chaunda, mango production of this crop was already on the rise in Lodhran and people were showing increasing interest in mango orchards.

Jaffar Shah Gilani, a famer, told The Express Tribune that hi family had been working on mangoes and orchards for a very long time. “We strive to provide the best quality mangoes to fruit lovers all over the world including Lodhran.” Ibrahim Qureshi, another farmer, said that government support can help farmers cultivate better mangoes. “The quality of our mangoes is increasing day by day. Government patronage will make it even better.”