Pakistan is the fourth largest mango producer in the world and the second-largest mango exporter in the world. Producers of this popular fruit hope to increase exports abroad, including neighboring countries, especially Iran, as the closest destination to Pakistani mangoes.
Mango is known among the people of Pakistan as the 'King of Fruits', and according to statistics, 170 million hectares of the country's agricultural land is dedicated to the cultivation of this crop, and until three years ago, 8% of the country's horticultural crops were mangoes.
Last year, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge of climate change led to a decline in mango exports of Pakistan, but Pakistani exporters are hoping to boost exports this year.
Exports of mango as a tropical fruit to Pakistan typically begin in late May, at the same time as the harvest season begins. Pakistan earned more than $94 million from the export of this tropical fruit between 2014 and 2016, and according to official statistics from the Pakistani agricultural sector, the country between 2014 and 2015 exported mangoes worth $45 million abroad.
In addition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Canada, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, China, and European countries are major importers of Pakistani mango.
**Pakistani mango exporters eying Iranian Market for trade Development
Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) says Pakistani producers exported 20,000 tonnes of mangoes to Iran last year despite the challenge of the coronavirus outbreak and this year too they are eying the Iranian market for the development of trade ties between the two states.
"The export of 18,000 tonnes of mango to Iran is very desirable and promising compared to previous years, and we are pleased that Iran is a popular destination for Pakistani mango," Waheed Ahmad told IRNA in Islamabad on Wednesday.
He stressed this year, we plan to export 150,000 tons of mangos to different countries and we are confident that at the same time, exports to Iran will increase as compared to 2020.
The Pakistani trade activist said that 55% of mango exports from Pakistan are made by sea, 25% by air, and 25% by land; however, exporters want effective facilities, especially on land and air.
He added the situation on the borders of Iran and Pakistan is stable, at the same time we ask the customs of the two countries to agree on the issuance of licenses for Pakistani trucks carrying mangos to their final destination anywhere in Iran.
Waheed Ahmad said unloading and reloading mangoes at the Iranian-Pakistani border is a major challenge to fruit quality and may affect the cargo reaching its final destination. “If the cargo is transported by trucks from Pakistan to the final destination inside Iran, it will help to stabilize the quality of the product and satisfy Iranian traders,” he noted.
He added the approval of Pakistani companies for the health and treatment of mango by the Islamic Republic of Iran is encouraging and will motivate mango exporters.
In June of last year, the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture and Pakistan’s Department of Plant Protection agreed to recognize six Pakistani companies for exporting mangoes to Iran.
According to official sources in Pakistan's agricultural sector, the country produces about 1.8 million tonnes of mangoes annually.
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