Jam Siraj, a mango orchard contractor, looks visibly disappointed at an orchard on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Tandojam. Looking at the piles of harvested Sindhri mangoes, he feels the quality is below par and unlikely to fetch a better price in the market.

His concerns are understandable. Sindh’s mango crop is once again under strain this year. Disease-hit production, difficult marketing conditions, and the war in the Middle East have all contributed to a market glut. “From a marketing point of view, it is trash,” he says, pointing to unripe mangoes with visible blackening scars plucked by his workers. Siraj, a Punjab-based contractor, is engaged in harvesting orchards in lower Sindh under contractual arrangements with orchard owners.

“Disease and pests in Sindhri mangoes on the one hand, and the closure of the Afghanistan border on the other, have undermined market prospects considerably. Contractors like me are bearing heavy losses this season, with some even walking away from deals midway to avoid further losses,” he says.

He refers to contractors who made partial payments under agreements with orchard owners but abandoned orchards after realising they would not be able to recover costs through sales, as market conditions turned unfavourable. This has left many contractors in a tight spot.

Disease, pest attacks, delayed exports and weak demand, highlight the industry’s growing vulnerability

To begin with, erratic, climate-change-driven weather patterns triggered crop diseases and, later, pest outbreaks in orchards. This prompted both contractors and owners to begin chemical spraying. Contractors used quality medicines even in December after early signs of hopper infestation. Despite these efforts, production losses remained high, even as attempts were made to salvage the crop.

The disease — batoor (in local parlance), or mango malformation — appears during the flowering stage (January–February) in recent years, weakening healthy flowering. Subsequent pest attacks, particularly hopper and thrips, have further damaged crops.

Malformation, apart from affecting stems, also creates favourable conditions for pests, impacting fruit quality, size, colour, and shape. It has therefore become a double jeopardy for orchards, with growers and contractors struggling to contain it.

Pest attacks have consistently affected orchards in lower Sindh, particularly in Tando Allahyar, a key Sindhri mango hub. There appears to be limited research-based intervention from the agriculture research department, despite repeated calls from orchard owners for support. Researchers, however, argue that they have advised growers to follow specific protocols and that losses are lower where these guidelines are implemented.

According to Sindh Agriculture Research Department figures, orchard acreage has declined to 58,900 hectares in 2025 from 62,455 hectares in 2016.

“This year’s pest attacks have been unusual,” says Mahmood Nawaz Shah, president of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB). He notes that malformation is a contagious disease with no known cure. “After removing a malformed stem, it must be burnt or buried to prevent its spread, which is a labour-intensive process,” he says. In recent years, pest and disease pressure has become more intense and rapid. “What we need is better research and evidence-based solutions to counter these emerging challenges,” he adds.

Disease and pest pressures have not only reduced production but also affected fruit quality. A large proportion of produce is now graded as second-quality fruit, which fetches lower prices. At the same time, regional marketing conditions remain challenging, alongside delayed exports. As a result, a market glut has emerged, which contractors and traders partly attribute to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border and disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. Consumers, however, have benefited from relatively lower prices amid subdued demand. Trade with Afghanistan was closed in October 2025, after the previous mango season ended.

“Inferior-quality mangoes are sold in large quantities in Afghanistan, which helps maintain price stability in the local market,” Siraj notes. He says he sold a 60kg sack of unripe mangoes for Rs200–Rs400 in Tando Allahyar’s Khawaja fruit market — a rate insufficient to cover costs. On average, out of 7,000 boxes of 9–10kg each, around 3,000 boxes contain low-quality fruit. A fruit commission agent in Hyderabad’s mandi, Faiz Bhutto, agrees with this assessment. He says Sindhri mangoes sold at around Rs100 per kg this year, compared to Rs120–Rs130 per kg last year, reflecting abundant supply in the market.

On the other hand, orchard management practices leave much to be desired, which, according to him, is a key factor behind disease susceptibility. In large trees, chemical sprays often fail to adequately cover the canopy. Siraj’s contracted orchard is owned by Shah Mohammad Talpur.

Talpur now plans to alter the orchard’s structure. “About 25 per cent of trees are above 30 feet in height. Nutrients do not reach them properly, and sprays do not cover the upper canopy. We will prune these trees next year as part of a production trial. The crown needs to be trimmed to allow air and sunlight into the orchard,” he says.

Mango exports began on June 1 this year instead of May 25, which Mahmood believes contributed to the glut, as even a week’s delay can matter during the narrow Sindhri season. He argues that had exports begun on May 25, domestic market stability could have been maintained. “Given conditions in the Middle East, exports have also been delayed for Dubai. Normally, around 300 containers are shipped in early June, but even by June 10, the situation remained weak,” he says.

However, seasoned exporter Abdul Waheed disagrees, arguing that the June 1 start was appropriate given Eid holidays in key importing countries, the Middle East conflict, immature fruit, and lower-than-standard Brix levels. He notes that only 3–4 per cent of total production is exported, so delays alone cannot explain the glut. “Even vessel availability has been affected this year due to the war,” he adds.

He stresses that exports depend primarily on quality, appearance, and size, which international buyers prioritise. Improving these factors, he says, would help increase export volumes and ensure better prices for growers. Pakistan also faces competition from countries like India, whose mango season precedes Pakistan’s.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 29th, 2026