LAHORE, May 18: The mango export would formally start from Saturday under a new set of rules about packaging and weight variations. According to a Ministry of Commerce’s statutory revenue order (SRO), mangoes would now be exported in packages of standard weight of two, three, four, five and seven kilograms, with five per cent weight variation on either side.
The Customs authorities would ensure weight standardisation, which had become a huge hindrance in export.
Explaining the rationale behind standardisation, Muhammad Iqbal, the Chief Operating Officer of Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB), says that underweight exports by some unscrupulous exporters had brought a bad name to the country.
Mango export to Europe costs some Rs72 per kg in freight charges alone. An underweight package by half kilogram could save the exporter Rs36 on freight head. This has encouraged some seasonal exporters to play with weight and bring bad name to the industry. In order to avoid this problem, the commerce ministry has issued weight standards, which would bring fairness to the trade, he said.
Babar Ihsah Bajwa of the PHDEB says another big problem emerged when some exporters started export the fruit pre-maturely in order to gain early advantage. That was why, the ministry, on the recommendation of the board, had decided to formally fix date for export every year.
“This year, it is fixed at May 20. Pre-mature export compromise on quality and taste, harming export market very badly. Both these problems have been afflicting mango exports for too long. The new SRO is aimed at removing both these hindrances,” he hoped.
Once implemented, the new rules would regulate mango export and make it fair for all. Mango, known as king of fruits, has been bringing $20 million in foreign exchange to the country and has potential to multiply the earnings.
So far, the country has been able to export only seven per cent of its yield; 100,000 tons out of total 1.5 million tons. With new rules regulating the export, the trade is set to rise, he claimed.
According to Mr Iqbal the export target would be around 115,000 tons, which is an improvement of 10,000 tons over the last year. He said that crop size has increased from one to 1.1 million tons in 2005 to 1.5 million tons, even more, this year.
The crop size is reported to be bumper, which will give more space for manoeuvring to policy planners and exporters. Though crop suffered some setback in Sindh due to weather vagaries, but overall production may cross 1.5 million tons level, he added.
