ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: A challenging time is lying ahead for Pakistan to be able to end the monopoly of Indian mango in the US market in the next couple of years.An official in the federal food ministry told Dawn on Saturday that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has agreed to allow import of mangos from Pakistan if the country proves that it can provide proper irradiation facilities to mango exporters and ensure Good Agriculture Practices (GAP).

But the country will have to prove to the USDA that it has a system in place that could eliminate quarantine pests through proper irradiation in exportable fruits.

“Pakistan should now start work immediately on a plan to enable itself to meet all the quarantine standards of the US. Otherwise, access to the lucrative American market will be as hard in future as it is now or perhaps harder,” an official of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) said.

He said the inability of Pakistan to meet the quarantine conditions of the US had allowed India to reap windfall in the American fruit market despite the fact that the neighbouring country’s mango seldom competed with the Pakistani mango both in quality and taste.

A number of officials in Minfal believe that Pakistan would have to learn from Latin American countries like Brazil and its neighbouring India to understand the global politics of food security and agricultural practises. But, so far the country has learnt little.

Meanwhile, the Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) has said that quarantine restrictions are a big hurdle in the way of exporting fruits including mango to the US market despite having great potential.

If Pakistan wants to make exports to the United States, it will have to certify its fruits under the “irradiation system” which means that its fruits must pass through gamma rays or neutrons.

For China and Japan, fruits are needed to go through under the “hot water dip” process.

A Minfal official said that to meet these requirements, Paras Food (PFPL) is setting up an irradiation plant on Multan Road in Lahore. Another such plant with a bit larger capacity would be soon set up in Karachi to overcome the difficulties being faced by the exporters.

Anwar Retol, Dasehri, Langra, Chaunsa, Sindhari, Saharni, Alphonso, Pairi, Fazli and Neelam are the most prominent varieties of exportable Pakistani mangoes which are grown in Punjab and Sindh.

But even if there is an irradiation system in place, the country will still face problems in export as it mango is attacked by numerous diseases every year.