As climate change threatens Pakistan’s mango exports, surging Middle Eastern demand offers hope
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan may miss this year’s mango export target of 100,000 tonnes as climate change adversely affects mango production, the All Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Exporters Association (APFVEA) said on Sunday, with officials pinning their hopes on a surge in demand from the Middle East.
According to APFVEA, Pakistan is the fourth largest mango producer in the world and exports of the fruit generate millions of dollars in revenue every year. Additionally, mangoes serve as a cultural symbol and diplomatic tool to help the government strengthen international ties.
Pakistan has faced challenges in recent years in exporting mangoes due to bad weather, pests and fruit fly infestations, and production is expected to decline for the third consecutive year by 2024.
The country produces around 1.8 million tonnes of mangoes annually, of which 70 percent is grown in Punjab, 29 percent in Sindh and 1 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“We had set a target of exporting 100,000 tonnes of mangoes this season, but this seems impossible to achieve as climate change has had a significant negative impact on Pakistan’s mango plantations, resulting in reduced production and a shortage of export-quality mangoes,” APFVEA chairman Mohammed Shehzad Sheikh told Arab News.
He said this year’s weather has reduced mango production by up to 40 percent in Punjab and 20 percent in Sindh, resulting in an overall drop in production of about 600,000 tonnes.
He said APFVEA lowered its target for this year because it could only export 100,000 tonnes of mangoes in 2023 after failing to meet last year’s export target of 125,000 tonnes.
“If we can export 100,000 tonnes of mangoes this season, it will generate valuable foreign exchange of $90 million,” Sheikh said.
Expressing serious concern, the APFVEA President said the impact of climate change on fruit cultivation, particularly mango, and the agricultural sector as a whole is becoming more severe with each passing year.
“Prolonged winters, heavy rains, hailstorms and subsequent severe heatwaves have led to changing disease patterns throughout the season,” he explained, stressing the urgent need for research-based solutions to mitigate these impacts, warning that mango production and exports could be further put at risk if not implemented quickly.
Apart from climate change, Sheikh said the sector faces challenges such as increased withholding taxes and rising costs of electricity, gas, transport, garden maintenance, pesticides and water management, making it difficult to compete with other exporters.
On the contrary, officials said that despite production delays due to climate change, demand for Pakistani mangoes is surging, especially in the Middle East, and they expect the export target to not only be met but exceeded.
“The final figures will be known by the end of the season in September, but we are expecting an increase of about 20 percent compared to last year,” Rashid Gilani, assistant manager at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), told Arab News. “Our target is to cross the $120 million mark. [overall] “Mango exports”
According to APFVEA, around 50 percent of Pakistan’s mango exports last year went to Middle Eastern countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Iran.
Gilani said despite the delay in production, work is now progressing smoothly and more mangoes are ready to be shipped, pointing out that TDAP has organised several mango festivals in different countries with the support of Pakistani missions to increase mango exports.
The Embassy of Pakistan in the UAE in collaboration with Pakistan Business Council on Saturday organised a Mango Festival event at the Pakistan Association Dubai. The event was attended by diplomats, foreign dignitaries, local residents and government officials.
Ali Zeb, commercial counselor at the Pakistan Embassy, told Arab News that demand for Pakistani mangoes in the UAE has been steadily increasing and is expected to grow further this year following the positive response from Dubai festival visitors.
“In 2022, Pakistan’s mango exports to the UAE will total 41,000 tonnes, worth $27 million, up 16 percent from the previous year,” he said. “In 2023, exports are set to increase to about 50,000 tonnes, worth $31 million.”
Zeb added that the increasing trend in mango exports to the UAE is likely to continue this year.
