March 03, 2008	Monday	Safar 24, 1429

ISLAMABAD, March 2: The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) is concerned about the damage caused to mango orchards in Sindh and Punjab by the cold spell and frosting in January and February.

While so far the government has not determined the total area in which young bearings have been damaged by frost, Minfal sees much weight in claims of the Mango Growers Association of Pakistan which has said that almost 80 per cent of the mango orchards from Sahiwal (Punjab) to Hyderabad (Sindh) have been badly damaged.

Sources in Minfal said that now it appeared difficult for the country to exceed last season’s production target of 1.7 million tons.

Last year, Pakistan exported 122,000 tons, about 20 per cent more than the year before following a bumper mango crop. But after this year’s prolonged cold spell the final figures of production could be discouraging.

A Minfal official told Dawn that a similar weather had also played havoc with mango orchards about 35 years ago.

“Frost can destroy the young bearings and besides affecting the quality of the fruit it also reduces production considerably,” the official said.

In 2006, many mango nurseries and trees were damaged by a scattered cold spell.

Officials in Minfal believe it is time for the government to take an initiative for introducing mango orchards and crop insurance policy. Growers have been demanding this for quite a long time as it will put in place a compensatory mechanism during natural calamities.