Pakistan may miss the mango export target fixed at 130,000 tonnes for 2008-09 as the people monitoring the export of this fruit feel that Pakistan will be able to touch only 100,000 tonnes. Till July 15, Pakistan exported around 62,500 tonnes of mangoes to different countries, while the quantity at the end of June 30 was around 40,000 tonnes, sources disclosed.
It may be mentioned here that the Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) had fixed the target of mango export at 130,000 tonnes for 2008. During 2007-08, the export remained at 120,000 tonnes and the PHDEB, in consultation with the exporters, raised the export target for the current year crop, expecting that the production this year would 1.7 million tonnes.
PHDEB Chief Executive Shamoon Sadiq, talking to told Business Recorder, feared to miss the target as the production was less than the expectations as untimely rains and wind-storm caused dropping of the fruit from trees at premature stage that had also affected the quality of the product, which was the key impediment for exports.
He said: "Last year, we exported around 90,000 tonnes till this time and this year, we are at 62,000 tonnes, indicating that we may mis the target." He stated that mango was one of the tropical fruits, which had experienced a tremendous development in recent years. The production recorded during 2006-7 was 2.1 million tonnes - Punjab with 67.0 percent share followed by Sindh 32.1 percent.
Production of mangoes during 2008 remained around 1.7 million tonnes, he said, and added that cold wave at the time of inflorescence adversely affected the crop in some parts of Punjab. Its impact on production was likely to be around 15 percent.
Shamoon said besides trade statistics, the board had been able to achieve a lot of improvement in the mango supply chain system, which were pre-requisite of importing countries, such as Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP), de-sapping through lime wash treatment for better cosmetic looks, modern harvesting techniques through harvesting tools, etc. Also Metro had taken the initiative of transport Pakistani mangoes to Germany through sea, in which the PHDEB had provided full support in this experimentation, he said.
"Once we succeed in transporting via sea to European Union (EU), there is going to be paradigm change in the mango trade from Pakistan," Shamoon proudly said. He said that now their target was that they should send at least few more containers to various destinations to assess the results so that "we could gear up our systems for the next mango season."
Shamoon said that they were sending two qualities of mangoes abroad, ie, Chaunsa and Sindhri, as they had to look for volume, variety and value. These two varieties were available in required volume and fetched more value due to their sweetness, he added.
According to the mango development strategy devised by the board for 2008, they had set a target of exporting 25 metric tonnes of mangoes to China under trial basis, 28,000 tonnes to the UAE; 16,412 tonnes to Saudi Arabia; 4,533 tonnes to Oman; 18,238 tonnes to UK; 1,204 tonnes to Iran; 1,504 tonnes to France; and 60,000 to other markets.
The objective of 2008-09 development programme was to initiate interventions for export enhancement of mango by making improvements in production with added features of Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP), he said, and added that the improvement in cosmetic look/appearance would be made through commercialisation of de-sap technology.
The compliance to SPS measures would be achieved by introducing hot water treatment units, while using mango-ripening chambers (use of GRAS ie, generally recognised as safe chemicals) would enhance food safety, he added.
On the compliance side, the PHDEB started the EurepGAP programme in 2007 with two certifications in mango orchards in Punjab. Since, EurepGAP had been changed into Global GAP, this year three mango farms in Sindh would be given support for GlobalGAP certification. It is expected that 3000 acres mango orchards will be GlobalGAP certified in Punjab, while, 2000 in Sindh, Shamoon said.
He said three awareness seminars on SPS would be held, one in Sindh and two in Punjab. The adoption of GlobalGAP standards had indicated that the possibilities for development of indigenous commodity specific standards for either local or export marketing should be initiated. Initially, the PakGAP standards would be developed in consultations with the relevant organisations/certification bodies, Shamoon concluded.