MULTAN-Pakistani mango is fetching more price this year as compared to last year in the international market.

This was disclosed by Director, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Multan, Haider Raza, on August 08, 2001. He said last year our mango was sold in international market at the rate of US dollar 2.90 per kilogram but this year the price has gone up to dollar 3.83 per kg, almost one dollar up.

The EPB Director said this hike indicates that the Pakistani mango is getting more popular in the world market. He said the increase also alludes to the fact that thedelegations of mango growers and exporters sent by the Government through EPB have played a tremendous role in popularizing this fruit abroad.

Haider Raza said several delegations were sent abroad to explore new markets for the Pakistani mango. The government's sincere, timely and well-thought-out efforts and strategy have started paying dividends.  About the earnings from the mango exports, which stood at  47,000 tonnes in 1999, were estimated at $ 7 million. Last year it was around $ 8 million, he added.

The EPB Director said that given the new price of the fruit the mango export earnings may further go up and touch $ 9 million or even more.  As for the mango production, he said, the South Punjab, comprising Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions, produced 0.6 million tonnes out of a total of 0.9 million tones. The balance of 0.3 million tonnes was produced by Sindh.

He said a delegation, comprising one grower and two exporters, toured Italy, Turkey, Holland and Germany recently. The response of those countries' importers was very encouraging. The EPB Director said they were astonished to know the Pakistani mango's taste for the first time and showed their eagerness to buy the same. He said some Turkish Government laboratory rules are tough which take three days to complete the procedure. And mango is a perishable and delicate fruit, so the issue will be taken up by the Government of Pakistan with its Turkish counterpart. He said another delegation purely from Multan is proceeding on Aug 10-11 that will leave for the United Kingdom. He expressed the hope that next year's demand for Pakistani mango will show that to how much extent the delegations played their role in inding more markets all over the world, particularly the western world.