MULTAN, July 29: An agro food processing facility will be functional at the Multan Industrial Estate by the end of this year.

Talking to this correspondent here on Tuesday, Pakistan Mango Growers Association President Zahid Hussain Gardezi said that machinery for the Rs213 million facility had been imported from Italy.

He said Smeda provided Rs135 million for the machinery, which had arrived in Karachi, while the Punjab government provided funds for land procurement and construction of a building.

Gardezi said this facility, equipped with the modern machinery for grading and polishing of fruits and vegetables, would produce mango and guava pulp and tomato paste.

He said the facility would begin trial production from September and would be fully functional by the end of the current year.

He said the international mango festival was the first of its kind and the presence of Italian, South Korean, Brazilian, Afghan, Mexican and Philippino ambassadors added to its value.