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.