ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: Pakistan exported 118,000 tons of mangoes till Aug 25 as against a target of 120,000 tons.

The country achieved almost 99 per cent of the total target set for the current fiscal year, and mainly exported the commodity to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Far Eastern countries and Europe.

An official report of the Horticulture Development Export Board said this year mango exports were started on May 20 and it continued till mid-September. It is expected that the target will be achieved when the figures for the remaining period are compiled by the ministry of commerce.

The mango production stood at 1.6 million tons this season, out of which 0.12 million tons, worth $39.99 million might be exported, which would be a mere seven per cent of the total output.

The UAE was the leading market for Pakistani mangoes followed by Saudi Arabia. The new weight standardisation brought credibility to export process in the European Union member countries.

According to the report, efforts were under way to create better marketing conditions for Pakistani mango in the world, in general, and in Europe, in particular.

Pakistan has succeeded in getting due market share for export of mango in Germany by displaying it in the superstores and the same would be done in other European countries.

The reasons behind low quality mango export to UAE include issues like quality standards set by the World Trade Organisation or Eurep Gap but they related to logistics problems.

Besides, higher air freight for mango export to Europe, the cargo aircraft has low capacity as compared to that of the ships, which were used for exports to the Middle Eastern Countries.

It was pointed out that less capacity in the aircraft and higher freight rates minimise quantity of mango exports to Europe.