Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harvest Tradings, Ahmad Jawad has said that the National Plant Animal Health & Inspection Service (NAPHIS) and Department of Plant Protection (DPP) must lay down some policy to control the fruit flies in mango product, so that the countries signature fruit may easily be exported to different countries.
Ahmed Jawad said that concerned authorities have to take both short and long-term measures to tackle the rising issue of fruit flies and other diseases. The private sector is ready to cooperate with government departments in this regard.
As country’s mangoes are facing difficulty in getting into UK this year, where the quarantine department is busily disposing of any fruit suspected of being a fruit fly threat.
The percentage of Pakistani mangoes rejected from the “FERA” (an executive agency of the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) are more than double of last year, following an increase in the presence of fruit flies.
Pakistani mangoes are prized for their superior quality and retailers have shown an increasing interest in them. But last year, 6.3% of 4,252 lots were rejected by Fera, compared with 2.4% of 3,940 lots in 2011.
The mangoes were rejected because of the presence of Nephritides fruit flies, a “quarantine listed harmful organism” and the damage they could cause to European fruit production. This year till end of June, 3.9% of lots had been rejected
Due to the volume of fruit being rejected may buyers have simply stopped buying from Pakistan, fearing losses? This responsibility also goes on the exporters; one must check the product with proper procedure or lab test before lifting the product.
Jawad said Europe as a whole imports in the region of 18,000 tons per season of Pakistani mangoes, 8,000 of which is usually sold on the UK market. The situation then, is a serious blow for the industry. “This is a warning sign for us”
European and UK quarantine policies are getting stricter every year, and Pakistan faces serious damage to its exports if it fails to control fruit diseases, including fruit flies.
Furthermore, export of mango to Iran, US & Japan has still not been resolved for the last 3 years. The performance of concerned departments remained questionable, he added.