Govt buys treatment plant as first mango shipment reaches Japan

Pakistani exporters dispatched the first commercial shipment of 550 kilograms of mangoes to Japan on Wednesday. The development encouraged the government which, the officials at TDAP said, has procured a big commercial plant having the capacity to treat 15 tons of exportable mangoes daily. The export of “King of Fruits” came by air after Tokyo had lifted last year a ban on Pakistan’s exports of mangoes that was slapped in March 2011. Before this, 1700kg of mangoes were shipped to that country in 2011 which was a promotional shipment. Japan’s import market is small i.e. they import about 12000 MT from the world; but its requirements are rather strict where they require a special vapor heat treatment of mangoes before importing the commodity. The Far Eastern country is a high value market where Pakistani mangoes could be sold at around $10-12 per kilogram, which is way above the prices obtained from other markets. Pakistan has for the last two years availed the services of a Quarantine Officer of Japan, who comes to the country and supervises the treatment of mangoes before certifying their eligibility for export shipment to Japan. For this purpose, a small plant has been procured and installed by the government at the Karachi Airport to facilitate the above process.