55,000 tons mango exports fetch $16.50 million

Pakistan exported till June 30 55,000 tons mangoes, worth $16.50 million, to Europe, Far East, and various Gulf countries. Sources in Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) told Business Recorder on Saturday that the country had achieved almost 50 percent of its 120,000 tons (worth $36 million) mangoes export target within a short period of 40 days.
The mango exports formally started from May 20, 2007, they said. Sources said that Dubai remained the top market for Pakistani mangoes by importing 27,000 tons worth $8.1 million, followed by Europe, including the United Kingdom, with 10,000 tons exports worth $3 million.
Pakistan exported 9000 tons mangoes, worth $2.70 million, to Saudi Arabia while 7,500 tons, worth $2.25 million, were exported to other Gulf countries like Oman, Muscat, Kuwait, etc, sources said, adding that the rest 1500 tons mangoes, worth $0.45 million, went to the Far Eastern countries, like Singapore and Malaysia.
Sources said that normally Pakistan's annual mango exports amount to around 0.1 million tons, about seven percent of total 1.5 million tons production, which earns around $30 million foreign exchange for the country.
They said that one could be optimistic on the easy achievement of the export target as the country was so far exporting mangoes grown in Sindh, while Punjab stocks would follow next. In addition to this, sources said, the country has three months--July, August and September--ahead to achieve the mango exports target, which may be increased by 20,000 tonnes with an additional worth of 6 million dollars this year.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Iqbal, Chief Operating Officer (COO), PHDEB, told Business Recorder that the future of mango exports was bright as the newly promulgated rules on weight standard and fixation of date for mango exports by Islamabad have been decisive to regulate the export of the 'king of fruits'.
Referring to the monthly meeting of PHDEB with mango exporters, which was held on last Friday, he said that the exporters were appreciative of the new rules, and termed them as a good omen for all stakeholders. Being encouraged by the new set of rules about packaging and weight variations the exporters had demanded of the ministry of commerce to also introduce legislation on the standardisation of the quality of commodities, he said.
He said that the era of underweight exports by some seasonal exporters was over and the new rules would bring fairness to the mango trade. The new amendments {S.R.O 397 (1)/2007} in the Export Policy Order, 2006 would ensure better value of the Pakistani produce in European markets and would clear the image of Pakistan across the globe, he noted.