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July 22, 2004
The king of fruits
The yield of mangoes in Sindh is far less as compared to Punjab although the farming area is roughly the same. Due to a myriad of problems, Sindh is unable to export mangoes as it used to in the past, writes M. H. Khan
The mango is known as the king of fruits or the fruit of kings due to its excellent flavour. The name mango is derived from the Tamil man-kay or man-gay which was changed to manga by the Portuguese when they settled in western India. Over a 100 varieties of mangoes are grown. Some varieties are found in India and Pakistan and the others in Southeast Asia.
It takes five years for a mango tree to bear fruit and although it is cultivated in many countries, the quality is not as good as that of those grown in the subcontinent.
Last year Pakistan exported 47,000 metric tons of mangoes, which is six per cent of the country’s total production, to 57 countries, with the UAE and the United Kingdom being the main markets. About 28,000 and 6,000 metric tons of mangoes respectively were exported to the UAE and UK, which fetched Rs 2.4 million and Rs 130,000 respectively. The two countries prefer mangoes of India over those of Pakistan. In 2000-01, Pakistan exported 53,443 metric tons of mangoes worth $16.54 million registering an increase of 43 per cent over 1999-2000.
The fruit is currently in the market but information gathered by TR reveals that contractors and growers will have to bear losses this season due to the sudden spell of intense heat and heavy windstorms, which resulted in the falling of fruit and their premature ripening.
Mango farms are spread over 254,000 acres in the country. Of these, 115,000 acres are in Sindh, 133,000 in Punjab, 741 in NWFP and 5,000 in Balochistan. In 2002-03, the total production stood at more than one million metric tons. Sindh produces 20 per cent of the total production. In Sindh, the majority of mango farms are located in Mirpurkhas (31,000 acres), Hyderabad (28,000 acres) and Sanghar (18,000 acres). Mangoes of Mirpurkhas ripen the earliest.
Growers, agriculturists and horticulturists agree that lack of technical expertise, non-professional approach, acute water shortage and the contract system are the main factors that have badly affected the quality, quantity and export of mangoes in Sindh. These issues need to be properly addressed to promote quality and export. The contractors and growers, in order to earn maximum profits, market the fruit before it attains physiological maturity. This seems to be the main hurdle in achieving the required target of export that otherwise can be met, provided landowners themselves harvest mangoes instead of selling harvesting rights.
Dr Attaullah Soomro, a horticulturist in the department of agriculture, says the situation in Punjab is comparatively better where only 50 per cent of landowners sell harvesting rights to contractors, against 90 per cent in Sindh. Quoting figures, he said Sindh produced 336,000 metric tons of mangoes against Punjab’s 684,000 in 2002-03.
Imdad Nizamani, a grower from Tando Allahyar, supported this viewpoint and said 80 to 90 per cent of farms are given to contractors who are unaware of the technical use of pesticides and fertilizers. He said: “Contractors do not have enough manpower — you need 1,000 persons if the mangoes are picked on 2,000 acres.” He added that water-shortage was another major problem. Contractors engage middlemen in the markets as they obtain money from them to pay to farm owners as per agreement. Marketing the mangoes is the middlemen’s headache.
About the fruit’s over commercialization, Dr Soomro says almost all growers are interested in growing Sindhri alone while neglecting the Saroli, Zafran and Daseri varieties. Sindhri is picked prematurely by contractors to market it as soon as possible, causing the fruit to rot which prevents its export. The actual time of its ripening is around May 25, but it is always available on or around May 15. “The contractors do not know how to use pesticides. We have time and again urged growers that since a disease called anthracnose is very common in mangoes, they must use bordeax mixture. But growers avoid it.”
He further elaborated that growers and contractors do not take precautions while harvesting mangoes as they pick them without leaving a two to three cm piece attached to the fruit, causing leakage of juice affecting the fruit’s quality. Additionally, the growers do not pick mangoes during early morning hours or wash them in chlorinated water which can improve the standard. Nitrogen fertilizer should be used instead of potassium as it increase the sweetness.
Hadi Bux Leghari, a plant pathologist from Tando Allahyar, says that if the contract system is not abolished then it must at least be streamlined. Contractors should be asked to use the required pesticides and take proper care of trees. “Land-holding has increased but the per acre yield of mangoes remains poor. Production, protection and post-harvest technology are important factors that need to be implemented properly, otherwise production of mangoes would continue to go down in Sindh. The growers must opt for other varieties,” he commented. He said that the agriculture department was also not offering sufficient technical help where the use of pesticides and different sprays to growers is concerned.
The annual exhibition of mangoes organized regularly in Mirpurkhas, fails to attract foreign investors since the event remains largely localized. Export Promotion Bureau assistant director Salam Abbas, said that if the exhibition was held at the Expo Centre in Karachi, it would attract foreign buyers and exporters in large numbers.
Tanvir Ahmed, a wholesale mango buyer, said that there was a monopoly of a few exporters who prevented other growers and contractors from exporting mangoes directly. According to him, “An ordinary grower or contractor cannot export as he would not be able to get cargo service from any airline. The government should end the monopoly of exports and keep mango exports open for every grower and contractor regardless of quantity.”
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