King of fruits: Bahawalpur hosts first-ever National Mango Festival

Experts gather to exchange ideas to promote mango in the global market.

BAHAWALPUR: The 1st National Mango Festival started here today at the Ghulam Muhammad Gothvi Hall, Abbasia Campus, Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB). The festival is being arranged by IUB in collaboration with the Agriculture Department, Bahawalpur Federation Pakistan Chambers of Agriculture and Livestock and the Bahawalpur Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.

The festival will be followed by a seminar in which researchers will present papers about mango cultivation and farmers will be informed about the mango plantation, quality, storage, packing and exporting process.

Commissioner Bahawalpur division Capt (retd) Asadullah Khan along with Vice-Chancellor, IUB Prof Dr Muhammad Mukhtar inaugurated the festival. More than 150 varieties of mango including Almas, Anwer Ratol, Barsha, Began Pali, Badami, Zafran, Saroli, Dosehri, Langra, Sindhri, Chaunsa, Gulab Ghas, Dil Pasand, Fajri, Maldah, Samar Behishat and Tota Pari were put on display in the festival.

Mangoes from Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were put on display.

The Vice-Chancellor, on the occasion said that more research was essential from a business point of view to promote growth in mango exports. The festival was attended by several high ranking government officials and businessmen.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.

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