Mango is a crucial agricultural product for Pakistan to earn foreign exchange but the production and exports of the sweet fruit have declined in the recent past. About 1.7-1.8 million tonnes of mango are produced in Pakistan annually.
However, output has seen a fall in recent years and it has dropped by 60 percent in 2024. It was shrunk by50 percent in 2022. Mango growers blamed climate change, lack of access to modern farm equipment and technology, and bureaucratic apathy.
Waheed Ahmed, Chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Association, said the mango production has been affected since 2013 due to ill effects of climate change. He said things could be worse if mitigation measures were not taken.
However, Pakistan lacked the required infrastructure to protect mango produce and producers. “Pakistan needs a proper weather monitoring and forecasting system in place to keep the farmers informed about weather conditions, said mango grower Sarfraz Bhatti.
Pakistan’s Mango Research Institute (MRI) expressed concerns over the declining production due to high temperatures and low rains in the country which is seventh largest in terms of cultivation.
The growth cycles of mango crops cycles are disrupted due to adverse and erratic weather patterns, said Dr Abid Niaz, Principal Scientist at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute.“Farmers are no longer worrying about improving quality; they are struggling just to maintain any viable production,” he said. Farmers recently held protests against the imposition of agriculture tax when production costs already went up.
Bhatti had warned of 40 percent decline in mango production in 2024 as climate change effects disrupted the flowering process while high temperatures caused acceleration of the ripening process, which downgraded the quality and shelf life. Another factor that has caused mango output to shrink is smog.
Pakistan is facing a water shortage so mango growers rely on groundwater to cultivate mangoes. However, varying salt levels in the groundwater have affected the plant growth and fruit quality.
All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (APFVEA) Chairman Muhammad Shehzad Sheikh said the decline in production and exports was “due to the pronounced negative impact of climate change on Pakistan’s mango orchards resulting in less production and a lack of export-quality mangoes.” Islamabad government has seen a decline in the targeted foreign exchange of USD 100 million due to the lower production and exports of mangos.
Mango production has declined for the three consecutive years since 2021, thus impacting the export prospects negatively. In 2023, Pakistan had set the target of exporting 125,000 tonnes of mango. However, it could reach the figure of 100,000 only. The effects were felt in 2024 as well.
“Last year’s export target had fallen short by around 25,000 metric tonnes and the year before that by around the same number. Due to the changing climate, a shortfall of 0.6 million metric tonnes was expected this year,” said Karachi-based mango exporter Ali Zia.
Pakistan has been quite slow in adoption of practices required to boost the value chain development, which led to negative implications for the mango industry. According to researchers of the Institute of Business Management Sciences at the Faisalabad University of Agriculture, the adoption rate for food processing is very low –only 5-7 percent.
“There is high demand for value-added products such as mango pulp and its made-ups in the international market. But, only two mango pulp plants are working in Pakistan,” they wrote.
Pakistani exports are dwindling as mangoes are just washed in warm water and packed into cartons when Western countries required advanced treatment such as irradiation, said Muhammad Junaid,a scholar at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).
“Pakistani mangoes are also plagued by inconsistent quality and lack of standardization, which makes it difficult to build a reliable export supply chain, particularly for high-end markets that demand stringent quality controls and traceability,” he said.
Waheed Ahmed said serious efforts were missed at the federal and provincial levels to protect the orchards of mangoes to develop sufficient endurance to sustain against the harsh weather conditions and reduction in disease resistance even as the input cost continued to swell due to increase in electricity, gas, transportation, garden maintenance, pesticides, and water management cost. All this has created Pakistani mangoes to compete in the international market, he said. (Times of Oman)
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