Pakistan is planning to organise a Mango Festival in Malaysia for the promotion of Pakistani fruit. The mango festival will be organised by Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) and UNIDO.
Pakistan has successfully organised Kinnow Festival and Biryani Festival in Kuala Lumpur in February and April 2015, respectively and now the Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur planning to organise a "Mango Festival" in June 2015 to brand Pakistan mango in the Malaysian market and ride the wave of buying spree preceding the month of Ramadan and Eidul Fitr to push its sales in the hypermarket.
Pakistan is already exporting Mango to Malaysia and presently some 100-150 tons is being exported to there as against demand of some 500 tons. Mango festival in Kuala Lumpur has multiple benefits for Pakistan exporters as it will not only promote among Malaysian market, but foreign tourists will also taste Pakistani mango and ultimately will promote Pakistani mango in their respective countries. Experts believed that Pakistan can enhance mango export by 20-25 in next two to three years by value-addition and proper marketing strategy.
According to a letter written by Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to S. M. Muneer, CE TDAP, they are planning a nation-wide campaign for mango promotion that covering 10 major supermarket chains in the country with 400 retail outlets in the Northern, Central and Southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia including major cities of Sabah.
The promotion will run from June to August 2015. Since the month of Ramadan is starting from 18th June, we will be able to capitalise on the strong demand before and during the month. The main objective of mango festival is to present mango as another gift item alongside dates with premium packaging which will resonate with Malay consumers.
Pakistan High Commission has suggested designing a special stand to showcase mangoes in order to distinguish them from other mangoes in the hypermarkets. A campaign will also be run on radio. This will include interviews and product advertisement over a period of four weeks to create hype about Pakistani mango and raise consumer awareness to the point where they associate the three months from June-August with arrival of Pakistani mangoes and keenly anticipate their launch in the hypermarkets.
According to letter, mango will be imported by Rush Group, which also brought in Kinnow for Kinnow Festival. Rush Group is registered with all hypermarkets in Malaysia and is in the best position to gain access for our mangoes to their shelves. While, mango will be supplied by a Cluster Group of mango producers in Pakistan identified under market linkages component of UNIDO TRTA II Programme or alternately they could be selected by All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA).
It has also proposed that PPVA and UNDO may jointly identify suppliers participating in promotion. High Commission will connect suppliers with Rush Group which will supply mangoes to hypermarkets across Malaysia. Special banners, buntings and brochures may be designed to publicise mangoes. Special packaging may be designed for promotion in consultation with PFVA and UNIDO. During the promotion campaign a Special Mango Fest may be organized at a local hotel in Kuala Lumpur as a curtain-raiser to the event.