The United States has agreed to import 'irradiated' mangoes from Pakistan. Shamoon Sadiq, Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB), told Business Recorder that United States is the largest importer of mangoes. It is an affluent market and its share in world mango imports is 41 percent.
Pakistan's entry in the US mango market would be a major breakthrough as quarantine restrictions on import of Pakistani mangoes in US had resulted in India enjoying total monopoly in the export of mango to US.
Pakistani mangoes, being superior in quality and taste, which are more popular in Europe as compared to Indian mangoes, may capture the US market and pose a threat to Indian mangoes, stakeholders believe.
A long-term mango promotion plan for European markets has been chalked out by the PHDEB. Mango growers are being encouraged, technically supported, and facilitated in obtaining EureGAP certification, which is preferred in Europe and is likely to become mandatory. About 4000 acres orchards are in process, of which one orchard of 400 acres has already been audited, and has qualified for EureGAP certification.
Besides this, fruit flies infestation is a major issue which is being addressed partly through adoption of good agricultural practices leading to EureGAP certification and partly through post-harvest hot water treatment and, in future, through 'irradiation'. One 'irradiation' plant, in Lahore, is almost ready awaiting Cobalt-60 from Nordion Canada to become operational. Another plant in Karachi, based on 'E-Beam' technology is at planning stage.
After fruit flies, 'sap burn' is another serious issue. It not only damages cosmetic look but the quality of the fruit as well. Further, it reduce marketability and the price of mangoes.
PHDEB, with technical support from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, has developed technology for 'sap' management. Immersion of fruit soon after harvest in one percent lime solution, which removes all stains, and neutralises adverse impact on fruit quality. This has been widely demonstrated this season for commercial adoption by the industry.
Shamoon said that PHDEB is also implementing a mango supply chain management project under the Agriculture Sector Linkages Programme sponsored by Australian government. The objective of the project is to offer good quality mangoes in the international market at premium price and thus improve both national and farm incomes.
The project would address issues relating to supply chain, from production to delivery of produce at destination. The stakeholders, including growers, traders, service providers, research and academia, are actively participating in project activities. All these initiatives would positively contribute towards boosting mango export from the country, he said.
The PHDEB CEO said that mango production during the current season stood at 1.8 million tons, against 1.6 million tons last year. The export target set for the current season was 120,000 tons, which has been crossed. Mango exports till September 10 had been estimated at 125,000 tons, he added.
Pakistan had a bumper mango crop during the current season as against last year. Mango production shortage during last season was attributed to two factors. First, the mango tree has natural alternate bearing phenomenon. A good production per tree is followed by comparatively low production during the subsequent year. This correspondingly affects production per tree as well as total crop production.
The other prominent factor during last year was bad weather. Persistent cold spell and inclement weather at the time of flowering damaged the florescence and, in turn, resulted in reduced production. The overall impact was estimated at 15 percent reduction in production. Shamoon said that the increasing trend in mango exports has been attributed to:
-- Overall increase in production over the years. Though marked by yearly fluctuation, mango production over the years has exhibited an increasing trend. Mango production in 2002-03 was 1.035 million tons, which rose to 1.056 million tons in 2003-04, 1.671 million tons in 2004-05, 1.754 million tons in 2005-06 and 1.9 million tons in 2006-07. Surplus mangoes were available at reasonable prices for export.
-- Growing reliance on sea freighting for export to Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. The share of export by sea has phenomenally increased, enabling shipment of large volumes, which was not possible by air firstly due to space shortage and secondly exorbitantly high airfreight.
-- Improved grower-exporter linkages encouraging sourcing of mango direct from the orchards.
-- Improvement in infrastructure especially roads, pack-houses and cold storages.
-- Capacity building of growers and traders through training and technical assistance leading improvement production practices and improved marketing skills, and
-- New market, especially Iran.
The PHDEB CEO said that this year two developments took places at the initiative of PHDEB with respect to Europe, as follows:
-- Weight standardisation at 2, 3, 4, 5 & 7 kg. This created transparency in business transactions and facilitated the buyers. Since the number of pieces in one package is also important in case of exports to Europe, weight standardisation also contributed towards qualitative improvement as well. According to trade circles, weight standardisation has impacted 15 to 20 percent values and 10 percent volume.
-- Mango promotion in Germany was also conducted and super markets were targeted. The response was very encouraging, and larger export volumes are expected during the coming years, he said.