In many parts of the world, people anxiously wait for summers to enjoy the romanticism attached to mangoes, which is known as the ‘King of Fruits’. India, China, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt are, in that particular order, the top ten mango producing countries of the world.
Well over four-fifths of global mango production comes from these top ten countries. Asia, the original home of the fruit, provides about three-fourths of world mangoes, of which two-thirds come from India alone.
USA’s mango imports are the highest (43.2 per cent) in the world. China, Hong Kong, Netherlands, UAE, France, Malaysia, UK and Saudi Arabia, Germany and Singapore are other major importers of the highly demanded fruit.
Competition from India
According to statistics, 85 per cent of Pakistani mangoes are shipped to Dubai and take their way into consumer markets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Iran and Middle East. The United States of America is the world’s largest importer of this purely Asian product that can rightly be called the ‘Yellow Gold’. Pakistani mangoes have to compete with India at every front, from bulk orders to super markets racks.
It is unfortunate to note that being the world’s largest producer and exporter of mangoes, India beats Pakistan, undoubtedly not in quality of the product, but in terms of a stronger functioning export mechanism, rigorous international marketing and a strategic mango diplomacy crusaded by their envoys in all parts of the world.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has a unique but unsophisticated network of 6-7 intermediaries running between growers and end-users due to the presence of many unnecessary layers in the export loop.
Consequently, when the product arrives in the global market, costs reach such levels where price-conscious consumers opt for the low cost product and this favours the rivals of the Pakistani mango. As a result of this mindless policy, it is reported that 30-40 per cent of the perishable produce gets spoiled before reaching the ultimate consumer, mainly due to many cooks present in the export kitchen and lack of adequate marketing facilities.
According to previous surveys, Pakistan is the 5th largest producer and 3rd largest exporter of mangoes. Pakistani mangoes enjoy a prominent position in the international market due to its taste, popularity and demand. They are spotless and clean by appearance, free from insect damage or fungal infection and uniform in size and ripeness.
Pakistani Mango: best in the world
As it is said that every cloud has a silver lining, the same is also true in this case. The good news is that Pakistani mangoes have no rival in the global market in terms of quality, sweetness, rich taste, distinct flavour, naturally woven fibres, pleasant aroma and the softness of its contents. These unique qualities of Pakistani mangoes are inherited from a fine mix of soil and season coupled with impact of flowing rivers through the world’s largest canal irrigation system that is literally the life-blood of the country’s agriculture.
The size, shape, color and taste of Pakistani mangoes have its own identity in the mango kingdom of the world. The most popular and successful cultivation areas for mangoes in Pakistan are Multan, Shujabad along with the Chenab river bed and scattered parts of interior Sindh. However, mango production in Khanewal, Sahiwal, Vehari, Okara, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Sargodha has also reached a considerable level.
Challenges at hand
There is yet another challenge waiting for Pakistani mangoes in the international market this year. Political and social unrest in the Middle East and drastic reduction in prices by India have sidelined Pakistan from the international mango pulp market. Value addition in the form of fruit pulp is still in its incubator stages in Pakistan and the concepts of preservation of mango and citrus have not developed a strong base in the export community.
The impact is terrible as out of a total twenty-three thousand tonnes of mango pulp produced every year, only four thousand tonnes is exported.
The Libyan unrest is a case in point. Industry sources said Pakistan exported 800 tonnes of mango pulp to Libya annually, but civil war in the country has disrupted supplies. Thirteen containers sent to Libya four months ago have still not been cleared, causing a loss of $200,000 to a Pakistani company. No new orders are coming in. Mango exports to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have also met a similar fate due to simmering social problems surfacing in the GCC region.
We have to keep in mind that India controls 70 per cent of the total international mango pulp market of 350,000 tonnes. In addition to the problem created by the Middle East situation, India’s $200 per tonne reduction of prices has further affected Pakistan’s mango exports.
Pulp was exported at $800 to $850 per tonne last year. However, this year Pakistani exporters are facing difficulties in competing with those of India because of the latter’s better yield and facilities provided by the government to its exporters.
All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association former chairman Waheed Ahmed, in a recent statement said that Pakistan is practically out of the Middle East market because of the price cut by India. He observed that India was capturing the Pakistan’s market share, adding that Indian export price was even less than the cost of production in Pakistan. This alarming state of affairs is a potential threat to not only mango exports but also have wider, intensive and long term implications.
The way ahead
Experts say that instead of clinging to the traditional market, it is time to explore new avenues of mango exports across the world and display the ideal profile of our product that is simply the best globally. We need to revamp the entire export system by eliminating unnecessary stakeholders from the race. This will surely improve our market competitiveness abroad.
The crux of the matter is that Pakistan is losing due to the fact that its marketing aspect of agriculturists is very poor and needs drastic improvement. We need to have a reorientation with regards to the diversification of marketing territories.
Our political leadership needs a direction to approach our strategic partner, the United Stated of America, which is the biggest buyer of Asian mangoes, to facilitate our mango product in the country’s huge market. Moreover, we must diversify focus towards Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore in the Far East and the Netherlands, France, the U.K. and Germany in Europe, for enhancing mango exports from Pakistan.
All stakeholders in the fruit’s trade, including farmers, exporters, investors, packing material suppliers, airlines, scientists and researchers must be taken on board to contribute their time and effort for promoting this cause for broader national interests. Pakistanis living abroad engaged in mango-related businesses may also be invited. Pakistani embassies and High Commissions abroad have paramount duty to come out of protocol mania and follow Indian envoys, who do not feel shy in meeting single shutter shopkeepers, convincing them to import Indian general export brands.
It is high time to reorder our priorities and focus on technological advancements made globally for the benefit of the concerned industry, which should be made available and accessible to small and medium mango growers without discrimination.
There is an urgent need to build strong linkages between different public and private model farms of progressive and influential growers and their targeted Small and Medium beneficiaries. This will aid in creation of modern infrastructure and transfer of technologies developed in isolations to help wipe off widespread inefficiencies in our value chain.
The concept of dried mango is gaining ground rapidly in other countries, especially in the Philippines, and must be introduced to the local entrepreneurs who can undertake ventures in this profitable field that has got a readily available market in Europe, USA, Japan and the Far East.
This is the age of value addition. Exporting mangoes in value added forms is essential. The fruit could be processed into juices, nectars and other value added products. The latest trend in juice and nectar packaging involves the use of tin and transparent material. Mirpurkhas and Multan, as well as Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad are ideal venues for setting up manufacturing plants of packaged mango products. Once this has been accomplished, Pakistani as well as foreign investors might flock to seize the new opportunity.
Top ten mango producing countries of the world
India
China
Mexico
Thailand
Philippines
Pakistan
Nigeria
Indonesia
Brazil
Egypt
Leads for the future:
Revamping the entire export system by eliminating unnecessary stakeholders
Enhance international marketing of the product, which is of the best quality globally
Diversify focus towards certain potential markets in the Far East and Europe
All relevant stakeholders including farmers, exporters, packing material, suppliers and researchers must be taken on board
Concept of dried mango needs to be developed to tap profitable field
Exporting mangoes in value added forms is essential in today’s time