The Chief Executive Officer, Punjab Board of Investment & Trade (PBIT), Saadat Muzaffar and Director Agriculture, Dairy and Livestock PBIT, Arshad Hussain Hashmi Friday visited Multan to meet the members of Mango Growers Association Pakistan (MGAP) and Mango Growers Co-operative Society Limited (MGCSL)
Speaking to the members of MGCSL, CEO PBIT said that the board has premeditated special programme and incentives for the development of mango industry in Punjab to enable access of the fruit to the foreign markets. He said that PBIT will help mango growers develop contemporary infrastructure for mango export, adding that the purpose of his visit was to interact and learn about the problems and impediments being faced by the mango industry.
Muzaffar said that it is now in the mandate of PBIT to invite importers of Pakistan mango from the developed countries to invest in the infrastructure and industry under joint ventures for value added returns to the growers. He said that PBIT has a special directorate for agriculture, dairy and livestock and a resolve to facilitate mango growers in the development of mango industry.
Earlier, President MGCSL, Syed Zahid Hussain Gardezi welcomed briefed CEO PBIT about the inherent problems of mango growers. MGCSL members said that Pakistan, despite being the fourth biggest producer of world mango, does not have access to research and development portfolio and desired establishment of a contemporary Central Mango Research Institute in Multan. They also said that there is a need to develop basic on-farm infrastructure for the pre and post harvest handling and contemporary pack-houses.