Geopolitical Turmoil Hammers Pakistan Mango Exports

KARACHI-(AFP): Pakistan's mango exporters will lose at least 30 per cent of this season's export volume as the Middle East conflict slashes demand in Gulf markets and pushes freight charges as high as $7,000 per container.

Waheed Ahmed, chief patron of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporter Association, said total mango exports will fall by around 30,000 tonnes from last season to 80,000 tonnes this year. Ahmed said Pakistan sends roughly 80 per cent of its mango exports to the Gulf region, Iran and Afghanistan, three markets currently caught up in conflict. He said the closed Afghan border and the wider regional war account for most of the decline.

Gulf Markets Hurt Mango Trade

Labourers in Sindh's mango belt continue picking the fruit at full speed this June, but exporters will ship far less of the crop abroad than in previous years. The Pakistani government declared an initial ceasefire earlier this week; however, the arrangement is too little too late for the ongoing three-month export period that began early June.

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Freight Costs Hit Exporters

Ahmed says that transporting a 25 tonne box of mangoes today ranges from $6,000 to $7,000, which is far more than the $1,400 charged before. The blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has caused oil prices in the international market to go up, thus raising transport prices. Ahmed welcomed this week's preliminary US-Iran agreement but said exporters still face the same core problems because the industry finalized most export consignments before the agreement emerged.

Mohammad Shakeel, who manages mango orchards in Tando Allah Yar, said mounting losses have forced several contractors to abandon their lease agreements and forfeit advance payments they had already made. The type grown by Shakeel is Sindhri, which is a gold-colored mango named after the Sindh province due to the delicious taste and juicy fruit.

Mangoes of different types, over two dozen varieties, grow in Pakistan, which earns roughly $110 million annually from the export of mangoes, and such export figures make it the fourth largest mango exporting country in the world. Such an economic downturn in the export of mangoes shows how much the Pakistani economy depends upon agriculture.

In addition, conflict with Afghanistan has led to restrictions on cross border trade, resulting in the parking of hundreds of vehicles laden with cargo at closed borders for months.

Local Demand Remains Weak

Prices of mangoes in Karachi have fallen to approximately Rs200 per kilogram, less than half their price last year, but there are no customers around. Consumers can find excellent quality of mangoes in the market but due to inflation, they have to purchase their basic necessities first. Pakistan's government recorded inflation at 10 per cent in the three months after the conflict began, up from 5.5 per cent in the preceding July-February period. Shakeel said the squeeze leaves many buyers choosing bread over fruit, since household incomes have not kept pace with rising costs.