Lack of infrastructure dents mango exports
A vendor sells mangoes on a street in Karachi. Mangoes are plucked raw from trees then packed in crates with a sachet of calcium carbide to ripen them on way to the market. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Although mango production has dropped significantly this year due to climate change-related challenges, it has nothing to do with the decline in mango exports, said Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Agriculture’s former chairman
Ahmad Jawad.
He pointed out that Pakistan had ample production compared with the target of mango exports. “Even if our mango production drops by 40%, we can easily meet the export target of 0.2 million tons,” he said in
a statement.
“Unfortunately, mango exports have stagnated over the last couple of years due to the lack of infrastructure and we are making maximum efforts to take the volume up to 175,000 tons.”
Jawad stressed that the export volume may be enhanced by developing the required infrastructure so that shipments could be started via sea route.
“We don’t have the sea channel and we have to ship by air. This is the reason why we cannot ship optimum volumes of mango as there are cargo space issues as well.”
The FPCCI official urged the Export Development Fund (EDF) to set up modern fruit ripening centres at seaports with the latest Controlled Atmosphere Stores to facilitate the export of the king of fruit on the public-private partnership model.
“Through proper sea shipments, we can export an additional 0.1 million tons of mango,” he added.
“We also understand that farmers will be facing the problem of global warming. Due to this natural reason, not only mango, but growers of all crops will suffer the challenges of climatic change in the coming years and decades.”
In the extreme weather conditions, China’s advanced facility can help improve mango production
in Pakistan.
He emphasised that Pakistan needed to enhance cooperation with China as it had introduced modern cultivation and pest-control methods, optimal sorting and packaging technologies, improved logistics and opened up more sales channels to enhance production and sales of the fruit.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2022.
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