Pakistan will start exporting mangoes to the United States, for the first time, from May this year. The US market which hitherto had been dominated by India in the export of mango, in all possibility, will be taken over by Pakistan as the quality of fruit is far superior in taste and flavour.
USAID has established a joint venture with M/s Chemonics, a development consulting company based in Washington to promote mango project, which is part of several efforts focused on building Pakistan''s business sector, and dedicated USD 90 million to the project which runs from May 2009 to May 2013. It will enable mango farmers to meet standards and phytosanitary requirements, as imposed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture regarding operational protocols, pre-clearance inspections and irradiation with the help of Punjab government.
In August 2010, Pakistan had sent a test shipment of about two to three ton mangoes to the United States which was thoroughly tested at the laboratories of the US Agriculture department. Having satisfied with the quality and health of the fruit and a favourable feed back from the consumers, approval was granted for the import of Pakistani mangoes into United States.
The first shipment of Pakistani mangoes would leave Pakistani ports in May. Mango harvest season starts from May and lasts till September. Leading mango varieties are "Sindhri & Chaunsa".
Mango, commonly called as "King of fruits", is one of the tropical fruits, which has experienced tremendous development in recent years. Mango. The soil and climatic conditions enable production and market supplies of good quality fresh mango over a period of about five to six months.
Chief Executive Officer of Harvest Trading, Ahmad Jawad, told Business Recorder that Pakistan has succeeded in mango diplomacy with United States regarding exports and in spring 2011, it will send world''s sweetest mango validated by universal scientific sweetness measurements, sure to delight even the most discerning of palates.
Unique not only in their high sucrose to water ratio, but also in their smooth, low pulp flesh and strong pleasant aroma, Pakistani mangoes will make their first trip to United States in May or June 2011. Our mangoes, he said, are a symbol of Pakistani pride and the export of fruit amounts to Pakistan reaching out to the world. Pakistan produces the third largest crop of mangoes in the world, growing more than 1.5 million tons annually. Mango exports reached their highest level ever in 2010.
Jawad said that USAID sponsored mango processing facility will help increase fruit''s shelf life for better survival during sea transfer and market displays. Pakistan exports less than five percent of its mango crop which goes mostly to wholesale markets.
He said that the test shipments in 2010 to the United States proved that Pakistani mangoes have a promising audience among the Pakistani-American community. There are 700,000 Pakistani Americans in the United States in cities like New York, Houston and Chicago as well as in northern and southern California. United States is the largest importer of mangoes and imports five times more mangoes than the total production of Pakistan every year from different parts of the world.
Pakistani mangoes would first arrive by air at an irradiation treatment centre in Iowa. After treatment, the produce will be shipped to cities with large Pakistani-American population.
Ultimately United States would like to co-ordinate sea shipments of mangoes because that allows for much larger exports than air shipments accommodate. Sea shipments also cost less, which helps reduce the price, a consumer will pay for a mango that meets the Global Good Agricultural Practice (Global G A P) production standards, he said.