RECORDER REPORT

MULTAN: President of Mango Growers Association, Syed Zahid Hussain Gardezi has said that change of weather in Punjab and Sindh has not only delayed mango crop but also reduced its production by 30 percent.

Talking to newsmen, here on Thursday, he said that this year target had been fixed at 0.15 million tones with the estimated revenue generation of 50 million dollars.

Pakistan, which is going to start export of mango by June 1, has to face 30 percent reduction in production due to climatic change.

He said that climatic change had hit mango trees in many parts of the country including Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas and Matyari in Sindh and Multan, Kabirwala, Khanewal, Rahimyar Khan, Shujaabad, Muzaffargarh, Khangarh and Khanewal in Punjab.

Gardezi said that despite successful initiatives taken by the MGA in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan to introduce the country's mangoes in the US and Japanese markets, the exports of the fruit to the foreign countries were unlikely to be started this year because of lack of VHT plant facility in the country.

Though Japan last year approved the mango tested through existing small VHT facility in the country but it was not viable to use for commercial level of trade because of its functionality and capacity. Thus the exports to Tokyo were still a distant dream, he added.

Besides, the test and quality approval of mango in USA, in the absence of the quarantine facility in the country, was also not favourable for exports as no exporter could risk sending entire consignment to the foreign country before quality approval while bearing huge freight cost, he said.

Thus the country's mangoes failed to make their debut in Japan, USA and Russia due to lack of funds for installing the VHT and radiation plant needed to qualify the value-added markets of the foreign countries. Gardezi said that a mango pulp plant was running very successfully in Multan but some elements took the charge of this plant on political ground and now it was being privatised on throwaway price.