It turns about that the government, mango growers and mango exporters are all feeling jittery about the upcoming mango season. And they should be, as the ban on Indias mango exports has been lifted whereas Pakistan's mango industry remains undeveloped.
Pakistan is the world's fifth largest mango producer and ranks second after India in South Asia. Mango is one of the most important tropical fruit crops in the world and in Pakistan it is the second important fruit crop after citrus. Yet it seems that mango is the hockey of Pakistan's fruit exports: nobody wants to care about it.
Even the country's mango export numbers are questionable. One source puts the annual number at north of $60 million, whereas Waheed Ahmed of All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters puts the number at about $45 million. The PBSs publicly available export data isn't broken down at commodity level, whereas central banks latest statistical periodical also doesn't reveal the quantum of mangoes exported by the country.
Industry sources say that Pakistan produces around 1.8 million tons mango annually but it only exports 4-5 percent of its total production. Last year Pakistan exported 90,714 tons of mangos officially as compared to 61,000 metric tons during 2013. Officials at Ministry of National Food Security and Research stated that they are making arrangements for exporting 120,000 tons in 2015, i.e. a growth of more than 30 percent.
However that growth may be difficult to achieve. Industry sources say that this year Pakistan will face strict competition from India, one of the world's largest mango exporters, in tapping the European market. Indian mangoes were banned because the mango shipments from India were found to contain fruit flies. But since that ban has now been lifted, Indian mangoes can be expected to give competition to Pakistans' - unless, of course, you follow Waheed Ahmed's argument.
He argues that competition with India is not the issue because Indian mango season starts in late March while Pakistani starts in late May and stays till October. He adds that Pakistani mangoes are better in taste and is popular not only with expat Pakistanis but Indians and Europeans also demand Pakistani mangoes by specifically asking for Pakistani mango. In any case, setting a target is one thing; planning and taking the right action is another. It is a long held view that Pakistani mangoes taste is better than those in the region, yet the country is unable to export even a quarter of its production.
Then there is the issue of mango smuggling. Pakistan exports more than 40,000 tons of mangoes to Afghanistan, according to Waheed, almost all of which goes through unofficial channels. Other industry sources say that due to US sanctions on Iran, Pakistan's mango exports to Iran also go through grey channels.
The good thing is that in a few years time mango production will likely rise. Following the fruits of Pakistans main mango growing regions of Punjab and Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also testing its waters in mango farming. But until and unless the industry ensures that its harvest to market wastage; that amounts to 30-40 percent of production, is reduced, the increase in production will reap limited results.