HYDERABAD: This year’s mango is being stated to be fairly in good size though the crop in Sindh was lately hit by pest. Many mango producers always go for harvesting Sindhri in June, when it is naturally ripened, develops shape and taste.

But a few growers resort to picking unripe Sindhri in a haste to capture market and some businessmen also export the premature fruit to certain countries, mainly Iran and Dubai. This trend casts a negative impact on prices, both in local and international markets, as well as the overall volume of mango exports.

Export of mangoes this year was allowed from May 20. Early picking, as always, began from lower part of Mirpurkhas district. “We harvested mangoes as early as late April,” said a grower, Karamullah Saand, alluding to picking of Saroli and Dussehri varieties followed by Sindhri. He owns an orchard in the Tando Jan Mohammad area of Mirpurkhas district.

Most mango growers anticipate that the market and export situation may stabilise as ripened Sindhri is being picked as per its schedule.

Growers resort to early picking of unripen fruit in Mirpurkhas for quick buck, say major growers

Pakistani mangoes — a substantial quantity from Sindh — is exported to Iran and Middle East region. “Sindhri’s peak harvest time begins in mid/first week of June,” says Ghulam Sarwar Abro, a progressive mango producer. He is among a few Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certified growers from Sindh.

Mr Abro has a hot water treatment plant at his farm located in Thatta where he processes the fruit for export. “Mango [Sindhri] exporters get 10 tonnes of the fruit processed at my farm for export to Australia, Sweden and Norway,” he said.

Criticising export of premature mangoes, he argues that when such fruit lands in market, consumers don’t like it and importers then avoid placing more orders believing that the entire crop might not be good. “Obviously such a bad impression casts a negative impact on domestic market,” he said. The fruit ultimately sells at lower rates in export market and more consignments start landing in local market further affecting the crop’s prices.

According to Mr Abro, this year he sold Sindhri for Rs100 a kilo for domestic market when compared with last year’s rate of Rs125 per kilo. “To me this is still a fair rate as market is suggestive of even lower rate,” he said.

Crop contractors

In Sindh, many orchards are not looked after by their owners. They are let out to contractors on an annual basis after signing deals in the light of expected size of the crop. Mir Shah Mohammad Talpur is one of them. Mr Talpur subscribes to the view that Sindhri consignments are mostly dumped in Iran and Dubai.

“Sindhri goes to Iran by road as it is the easiest and cheapest way of export,” he said. Initially, he said, export market showed better trends with the result that the fruit started to land in market and exporters were seen lifting bigger volumes. “Dubai’s market receives mangoes from multiple sources, besides Pakistan,” he said.

Imdad Nizamani, an eminent orchard owner from Tando Allahyar, says export market’s trends always have implications on domestic market.

Negative impact on exports

Mango is exported early and unripe mangoes are picked. This does not go down well among importers, who then stop more imports, he said, and added that when early export trend appears negative, the domestic market sees its fallout.

“Exporters, for instance, can go for early varieties of Saroli and Dussehri to begin season. They can export Sindhri in mid-June when it ripens and becomes tasty and colourful, instead of exporting it as early as in the third week of May,” he said. As Sindhri’s actual harvesting time has now started, the market will hopefully show stability price-wise.

Mr Nizamani opines that when buyers don’t get better fruit, they avoid buying it in the next season from the same market.

Mahmood Nawaz Shah agrees with Mr Nizamani. “Export quality fruit was initially getting Rs6,200 per 40kg rate for Sindhri which has plummeted to Rs3,800 to Rs4,000 per 40kg now.

The reason is that we exported premature Sindhri that was not up to the mark,” he says. He believes that administrative measures cannot fix the issue. “We have to show a sensible approach to capitalise on international market”.

He observes that exporters themselves were acting as commission agents (aarrhtis) and thus show haste in exporting the fruit. “Therefore, we are not able to compete in international market,” he says.

Local market

Sindhri was indeed sold for Rs6,000 per 40kg in local market for export purpose when it was picked in the early harvesting areas of Mirpurkhas. “Now it is being sold for Rs3,800 to Rs4,000 per 40kg.

“Plenty of mangoes were loaded on trucks and containers destined for Iran in the third week of May as early harvesting areas kept sending the fruit to local market. But after May 25, mango consignments from different other areas started landing in the market,” according to him.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2024