Comment by Riaz Haq on December 31, 2020 at 10:29pm

'Pakistan government to establish cold storages on airports and shipping ports across nation'

https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9277227/pakistan-government-to-e...

An agreement has been made by the government and the Representatives of Fruit and Vegetable Exporters to establish cold storage areas on airports and shipping ports across Pakistan.

This weekend, the Ministry of Commerce hosted a video-link session to address the issues surrounding mango exports. In the consultative session, an agreement was made by the government and the Representatives of Fruit and Vegetable Exporters to establish cold storage areas on airports and shipping ports across Pakistan.

Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood: “Held a fruitful consultative session with the growers, farmers, and exporters of Mangoes at the MOC. We discussed problems facing the exports of mango and discussed the way forward. We agreed to explore establishing cold storage areas on airports and shipping ports. We also agreed to establish a Mango Development Council under the forthcoming STPF.”

According to an article on globalvillagespace.com, this significant decision would have a positive effect on Pakistan’s exports. Most fruits and vegetables do not last long in warmer weather, hence why they need to be placed in cold storage to prevent their degeneration, especially in airports and shipping ports where they need to be sent for exports. Pakistan’s harsh weather conditions do not favor fruits and vegetables’ longevity, which ultimately affects our exports. Establishing cold storage would prevent this issue and benefit our agriculture industry as well as exports.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 3, 2021 at 6:50pm

Dysfunctional Horticulture Value Chains and
the Need for Modern Marketing Infrastructure:
The Case of Pakistan

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/534716/dysfunct...

Total cereal production in the country increased to 38.34 million
MT in 2016 from 25.99 million MT in 2001, registering a growth of
47.52%. More than 70% of this growth was contributed by growth
in yield, while the rest was contributed by growth in cultivated land.
The country produced 6.64 MT vegetables and 5.89 MT of fruits in
2001, which increased to 9.77 MT and 6.8 MT, respectively, in 2015.
Yields of fruits and vegetables remain low. For example, yield
of potato (in tons per hectare) in Pakistan is significantly lower
compared to European countries like Belgium, the Netherlands,
Spain, and Turkey; and the United States (US) (Figure 2). Overall,
growth of yield played a small role in the growth of production of
fruits of vegetables during 1990–2016.3
Total production of potato, onion, and tomato was about 6.23 MT
in 2015, which accounted for about 64% of quantity and about 70%
of value of all vegetables produced in Pakistan. Punjab, Sindh, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan provinces accounted for 83%, 1%,
9%, and 7%, respectively, of total potato production. Shares of these
provinces in total tomato production were 9%, 10%, 45%, and 26%,
respectively. Sindh (40%) and Balochistan (28%) led in total onion
production, followed by Punjab (21%) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (11%).
Pakistan exports different types of fruits and vegetables. The value
of the country’s export of fruits and vegetables in 2016–2017 was
about $568 million. Per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables
in Pakistan is low compared to Europe and America, and roughly at
par with South Asian comparators like Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
In 2013, per capita consumption of fruits was only about 29
kilograms (kg) in Pakistan compared to 95 kg in Europe and 105 kg in
the US. Per capita consumption of vegetables was 26 kg in Pakistan
compared to 115 kg in the European Union and 114 kg in the US in
the same year.4
Current Horticulture Value Chain
Several players are involved in different segments of the horticulture
value chain in Pakistan.

Collection and Shipment
Majority of the farmers sell their produce at wholesale markets. Most
farmers contract out fruit orchards during the flowering stage to the
middlemen, commission agent, and/or wholesalers who provide
loans to the farmers over the course of production. Vegetables and
fruits are transported by the same cart or truck from farms to the main
markets in the absence of specialized vehicles for specific products.
The same vehicle is used for many other purposes including animal
transportation. Recently however, reefer trucks have been introduced
on a limited scale in some parts of Pakistan. In the absence of direct
access of carrier vehicles to the farms, farmers gather their products
in a convenient spot along the roadside for pickup. When middlemen
or contractors are involved, it is their responsibility to collect and
transport the produce. The unsold or unauctioned produce in one
market is sent to other markets in the same locality.
Fruits and vegetables are packaged using local materials before
shipment. In most cases such packaging fails to preserve the
freshness and quality of the products. Another problem is absence of
cooling and packaging centers, and inadequate cold storage facilities
to preserve the produce at or near the wholesale markets. More than
555 cold storage units have been identified in Pakistan with about
0.9 million MT storage capacity, against more than 15 million MT of
production of fruits and vegetables. There are no available cooling
and packaging houses, and cold storage facilities close to the farms
that can be used by the producers.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 3, 2021 at 6:50pm

Pakistan’s cash crops — vegetable production

https://dailytimes.com.pk/603906/pakistans-cash-crops-vegetable-pro...

Vegetables constitute an integral component of our cropping pattern but the increasing pressure on food and cash crops has limited the area under vegetables to about 3.1% of the total cropped area. Because they have a shorter maturity period vegetables fit well in most farming systems. Vegetables provide proteins, minerals and vitamins required for human nutrition. In Pakistan though, the daily per capita intake is low, being about 100 grams compared to the recommended consumption of about 285 grams. Vegetables are very important due to their higher yield potential, higher return and high nutritional value while being suitable for small land holding farmers. Most Pakistanis prefer cooked vegetables over raw vegetables, use plenty of fat during cooking and like to stir-fry their vegetables but high heat kills many of the beneficial nutrients and vitamins, and the excessive fat intake encourages obesity and high cholesterol.

However, according to the Asian Development Bank until today Pakistan remains a low level producer of vegetables basically for the domestic market only. In some instances, Pakistan has to import vegetables. One such example is pulses. Pulses are the most important source of vegetable protein in Pakistan. The demand for pulses is increasing because of the population growth and the fact that dal is cheap staple food for the poor. There is a need to develop varieties with higher yield potential that respond to improved management practices so as to meet the increasing demand of pulses and for import substitution. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has started a program in order to develop varieties of chickpea, lentil, mung bean and black gram through breeding, molecular techniques and selection. The new varieties should be responsive to high inputs like irrigation, fertilizers and inoculation and be resistant to disease, drought and cold. Last year a four-person U.S. pulse industry team visited Karachi during April 29-May 1 to attend the first U.S. pulses seminar, hold industry meetings, visit a processing facility, see a traditional grain market and tour a hypermarket. But instead of helping Pakistani agro-industry the visit resulted in Pakistani buyers contracting for import of American pulses for the coming year. Overall, Pakistan is spending Rs. 102 billion annually on import of pulses. Among the reasons for that is that pulses were grown in marginalized land which has low productivity due to lack of water.


As can be seen there are multiple factors constraining not only the production of pulses but of all vegetables. One important factor apart from seeds quality, diseases and others is the human factor. The majority of the population in Pakistan lives in rural areas where poverty is deep and widespread. People are not only poor but mostly uneducated. Whatever knowledge farmers have is from their fathers and grandfathers. Not or insufficiently able to read and write is another major constraint. New seeds and how to handle them, use of new fertilizers are incomprehensible to them. Moreover, many of them are landless or small farmers with holdings too small to be profitable. And the number of such people is increasing with the passage of time. Has there ever been an attempt to bring small landowners in a cooperative together? That would solve the problem of too small holdings, access to credits, training-on the job and others.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 3, 2021 at 7:06pm

Dysfunctional Horticulture Value Chains and
the Need for Modern Marketing Infrastructure:
The Case of Pakistan

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/534716/dysfunct...

Negative Impacts of the Current Value Chain The negative impacts of the current value chain can be assessed in terms of the low share of farmers in consumer prices . Usually producers get 15% to 20% of the retail price. Production of perishables like potato, onion and tomato suffers from a major setback every 3–4 years. Usually two or three good harvests are followed by a bad harvest. Besides, natural factors like unfavorable weather also negatively affect production. Producers do not get price dividends when production is low, shooting the retail price. Benefits of high retail prices are disproportionately expropriated by the middlemen. When there is a market glut where perishables and their prices fall, producers suffer as their share in retail prices also falls significantly. Sometimes producers throw away their perishable produce to protest their low prices. It emerged from discussions with the traders in Badami Bagh Ravi Link wholesale market that producers’ share in retail prices is inversely related with the perishability of the crop. Both seasonal and spatial price fluctuations of fruits and vegetables are high in Pakistan. For instance, in 2017, the price of 100 kg of tomato in Lahore fluctuated between 1,450 Pakistan rupees (PRs) to PRs13,150, or more than 800%. In the same year, price fluctuation for fresh potato was between PRs1,550 to PRs4,300 for 100 kg, or 177%. The annual cost of price fluctuations of fruits and vegetables is estimated to be about $825 million. Postharvest losses in fruits and vegetables due to mishandling of the perishable product, poor transportation, and inadequate storage facilities and market infrastructure account for about 30%–40% of total production. The annual value of postharvest losses of potato, tomato, peas, cauliflowers, carrots, turnip, radish, brinjal, squash, okra, onion, grapes, and mango in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh, valued at the respective 2016 provincial wholesale prices, is about $700 million to $934 million. An alternative estimate suggests that a reduction of around 75% of the current postharvest loss, when valued at export premium prices, would be equivalent to an annual saving of approximately $1.13 billion.

Due to low economies of scale, lack of synergies and collaboration among traders, high loading and unloading time, and hightransportation cost, overall marketing cost is very high. A reduction of marketing cost by $0.025 per kilogram would save about $55 million annually in the Ravi Link wholesale market in Lahore. It is difficult to comply with food safety, sanitary, and phytosanitary standards with the current value chain. The income and corporate tax revenues foregone due to the current value chain and marketing structure are also potentially high. Current Situation of the Main Wholesale Markets in Lahore The situation of four wholesale markets located in Lahore were analyzed, namely, (i) Badami Bagh Ravi Link, (ii) Akbari Mandi, (iii) a fish market at Urdu bazaar, and (iv) a flower market in Sughian Pul Shekhopura Road. The key findings are as follows. Physical Limitations The main problem is inadequate space for activities, forcing the commission agents and wholesalers to operate in open spaces with consequent spoilage. The average size of stalls is about 16 square meters only, which makes sorting, grading, and display of products difficult. Most of the corridors and offices in the premises have little active ventilation as required by international standards. There are no sewerage networks and treatment plants. Toilets are inadequate and the existing ones are unhygienic. The water supply is not sufficient, and its distribution network is inefficient for not having suction cups, drain valves, and fire hydrants. Entrances and exits are directly linked to the main road, making traffic movement cumbersome. Managerial Limitations The current set-up of the wholesale market is too interventionist. This impedes revenue collection. Consequently, the market is underfunded, especially for repairs and maintenance, as well as waste management. The current market rules do not specify the responsibilities of the management of the market, and the service provided by the management to the traders is of poor quality. The shared responsibilities of different actors within the management are not well-coordinated. There is no ostensible transparency and accountability in the operation. No price information is made available for buyers and sellers. As to ensuring food safety, there are no policies implemented nor actions taken, and products of different qualities are sold together.

Comment by Riaz Haq on March 12, 2021 at 10:05am

PIA cuts freight charges to 24 cents, about Rs40 per kg (US$0.04 per kg) for vegetable/fruit to boost #exports to the #MiddleEast. PIA has installed a large scanning machine at #Islamabad Airport where 100 boxes at once. Will do same in #Karachi, #Lahore. http://www.fruitnet.com/asiafruit/article/184618/pakistan-internati...

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has slashed its freight charges for the export of fruits and vegetables to the Middle East, in a move it hopes will facilitate substantial growth in horticulture exports.

According to Pakistan Today, the airline made the decision after a detailed meeting between PIA chief executive air marshal, Arshad Malik, chief executive of the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) Waheed Ahmed, and officials of Ministry of Commerce (MoC).

Pakistan Today reports PIA has revised air freight charges downward to 24 cents, equivalent to Rs40 per kg (US$0.04 per kg) for vegetable and fruit exports to the Middle East, including Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai.

The airline also assured PFVA of low freight charges in the future, along with the provision of state-of-the-art ground handling facilities.

Malik informed officials the airline has already installed a large scanning machine at Islamabad Airport where 100 boxes can be scanned at the same time. The same scanners will be installed at Karachi and Lahore airports, he added.

He also said he was keen to meet with Pakistani mango exporters before the start of the season so that close coordination could be maintained with all stakeholders.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 28, 2021 at 7:33am

New farming method promises to multiply Pakistan’s mango yield

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1865876/world


Mango grower in Sindh has introduced the small tree system of cultivating orchards, which allows more trees to grow on a smaller area
Sindh has seen a decline in production volume largely due to outdated farming techniques

TANDO ALLAHYAR: After a decade of declining harvest, mango growers in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province are pinning their hopes on a new farming technique that would allow them to increase their fruit yield up to six times, several growers and experts said.
Pakistan is the world’s sixth-largest mango producer, with an annual production volume of about 1.7 million tons. While most of the harvest comes from Punjab, the Sindh province has the second-largest yield and is known for the Sindhri variety of mango, famous for its honey-like sweetness and deep, thin yellow peel.
But farmers are increasingly sounding the alarm on declining crop yield.
Sindh cultivated mangoes on 59,215 hectares of land and produced 381,269 metric tons in 2010. Provincial agricultural data shows this yield reduced to 329,300 metric tons by 2019.
Realizing that a major reason for the decline was outdated farming practices, one grower, Mahmood Nawaz Shah from the Tando Allahyar district, decided to try something new at his Genuine Delight Farms.
In 2019, he initiated a pilot project to cultivate new orchards under the small tree system (STS) on 1.6 hectares of land using a pruning technique that keeps the height of the mango plants at nearly nine feet, making their management easier and helping to accommodate more trees in a smaller area.
“The STS can revolutionize the quantum of our mango production,” Shah, who also represents a provincial farmers’ body, the Sindh Abadgar Board, told Arab News.
“We can increase our mango production some five times in this country,” he added, explaining that while the average mango yield per acre was five metric tons from large trees, an average of 25 to 30 metric tons could be harvested from the same area using the small tree system.
According to estimates by the Sindh Abadgar Board, the STS is currently being used on only 1,618 hectares of Pakistan’s total mango cultivation area of 167,000 hectares. In Sindh, only 10 growers have so far adopted the method.
“We are far behind when it comes to modernizing our farming structures and techniques,” Dr. Noor-un-Nisa Memon, a faculty member at the Sindh Agriculture University in Tando Jam, said.
It was high time, she said, that old mango orchards were replaced with new ones, but farmers in Sindh were reluctant to prune their trees, thinking it would reduce their yield.
Farmers, however, say they are willing to adopt new techniques but cannot do it without government support as most are small-scale growers.
“It is extremely important to adopt the STS to deal with the situation,” Mir Zafarullah Talpur, a grower from Sindh’s largest mango-growing district, Mirpurkhas, told Arab News.
“The government should arrange an extensive awareness program for farmers and provide them subsidies and installment facilities so they can import modern instruments.”
Hidayatullah CHajjro, director-general at Agriculture Extension, said the provincial administration had already arranged several training sessions to raise awareness among mango growers about new farming techniques but agreed that subsidies needed to be given to farmers who wanted to import essential gadgets and machinery.
“By adopting a comprehensive approach, such as the STS, not only can we reclaim our previous production level but also enhance it further,” CHajjro said.
Shah, who introduced the new farming method to Sindh, is hopeful the trend will gain momentum in the next few years.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 26, 2022 at 7:34am

A Heat Wave’s Lamented Victim: The Mango, India’s King of Fruits
Blistering spring temperatures have devastated crops of the country’s most beloved fruit. “The soul of a farmer shudders at seeing these fruitless trees,” one grower said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/world/asia/india-heat-wave-mango...

India is the world’s largest mango producer, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the global crop. Much of it is consumed domestically, but the country exports tens of millions of dollars’ worth of mangoes each year to the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Germany and the United States. Over the past decade, India has been trying to penetrate markets in other European Union countries as well.

In the past, export growth has been limited by the higher costs of Indian mangoes compared with those from countries like Brazil, Peru, Israel and Pakistan. India has been striving to increase productivity, which would lower costs.

Even before the extreme heat, India’s mango exports had been badly damaged by the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic, with shipments abroad shrinking by almost 50 percent last year. India’s top export organization had hoped for a big turnaround this year as the Indian and U.S. governments eased trade rules.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 9, 2022 at 4:47pm

'Sweeter than honey': Inside the underground quest for the perfect mango
Hira Qureshi
Cherry Hill Courier-Post

https://www.courierpostonline.com/in-depth/life/food/2022/08/09/man...

The message arrives from an unknown number on WhatsApp at about 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening.

Hi, regarding the mangoes …

I text back quickly for clarification.

Are you the lady getting mangoes from Nauman?

Yep, she responds instantly.

My heart leaps with joy. Just a 20-minute drive away, my box of Pakistani mangoes is here.

Would my contact be a local auntie dressed in a salwar kameez (traditional Pakistani garb)? Or would she be a 20-something like me, eager to get a taste of the beloved Chaunsa mangoes that had flown across the Pacific Ocean from Multan, Pakistan? Whoever she is, I think, I'm grateful she kindly scooped up a box for me on her trip to the mango middleman — Nauman Chaudary — in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Chaudary became the middleman for mangoes in the Atlantic region when his friends and neighbors heard he was making trips to airports to pick up boxes from a mango supplier.

The West Chester resident told me about his journey to becoming the mango middleman earlier that week when I reached out for a story on how these mangos have built a local cult following.

People in his neighborhood would say, "Hey, if I get 12 boxes, we can share two" and that's how it all began.

“And then this year, we kind of ended up going a little bit further. I said, ‘OK, let's just do a little bigger project and let’s see how it works out,'" Chaudary said.

When shipments arrive, Chaudary sends out Facebook posts or WhatsApp messages for those interested in a box or three. The posts offer the brass tacks of what's in the box and when it's ready for pick up for those familiar with the magic of the mangoes. His Facebook post on a local South Jersey group is how I ended up at a young doctor’s home near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“Our next shipment of Pakistani mangoes date is July 13th IA (Inshallah or God willing), we are getting Chaunsa from Multan,” he had posted. “If anyone (would) like to order, please send me message with number of boxes. Cost of mangoes are $40 per box. Box is 2 kg, 4.4lbs, Chaunsa 5-6 pieces.”

---
Waiting outside her home, my anticipation builds. My parents grew up joyfully devouring these mangos, but I had never tried them until now. My heritage was waiting in the shape of a yellow-skinned fruit right behind the door.

After about 10 minutes, the door opens and a woman in light blue scrubs hands me a medium-sized box wrapped in green tape with a quick, “Here ya go! Hope you enjoy them.”

The exchange is brief, but my excitement is palpable. I smile down at the box in my hands.

I rip the box open immediately, and my friend along for the drive notes the honey-like smell that wafts from the oval-shaped mangoes tucked in little netted cozies.

The next day, we gorge on the luscious fruit while sitting on beach towels at Stone Harbor beach.




Incredibly sweet and bursting with juice, these mangoes are a revelation. They help me understand the devotion and reverence for the natural sugar bombs grown in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh inspire and the love expressed in everything from mango kulfi (traditional ice cream) to romantic verses by famous poets like Mirza Ghalib who had a special fondness for the fruit.

The cultural significance of this glorious fruit is even referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In an episode of “Ms. Marvel,” Kamala Khan chats with her Nani (maternal grandmother) in Pakistan over FaceTime, and Nani gets distracted by the mango man who’s brought his cart outside her home.

The poet Mirza Ghalib is reputed to have said: “Mangoes need to have two qualities: they need to be sweet, and there needs to be plenty."

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page