ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce has disclosed that the export of local Mango increased to $104 million in 2019-20 from $78 million in the previous year 2018-19.
The main markets for Pakistan’s export are United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Commerce hosted a consultative session on the issues pertaining to mango exports via video link attended by Advisor to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.
Razak Dawood advised the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to double its efforts for marketing Pakistani mangoes abroad. The participants included Chairman of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) Waheed Ahmad, farmers, and exporters of mangoes.
The officials of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), and Department of Plant Protection (DPP) were also present.
After a brief presentation by the Agro Wing of Commerce Division, the participants noted that mangoes export is maintaining a positive trajectory and Pakistani mangoes are now getting better prices as compared to previous years.
The meeting also discussed in detail all bottlenecks being faced by growers and exporters of mangoes. The main issues identified were meeting the compliance requirements, high freight charges, lack of cold storage facilities at the airports and insufficient water/vapour treatment facilities.
After extensive discussions, it was agreed that the TDAP will examine all the legal issues for operationalising the already-imported Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) plant presently lying at Expo Centre Karachi. It was also agreed that the MOC will focus on exploring new markets and obtain tariff concessions for mango export.
It was agreed that efforts will be made to establish cold storage areas on airport and shipping ports. The Ministry of Aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will be approached for reserving a dedicated area for mango consignments. The CAA will also be approached to install b igger scanners for scanning the consignments instead of loading and unloading of small crates.
It was also agreed that the establishment of a Mango Development Council will be explored which will have representation from all stakeholders, including farmers, traders, cool chains representatives and research institutes.
