Daily Times

The United States (US) government celebrated continued support to Pakistan’s mango sector by organizing a ‘Mangolicious culinary competition in partnership with the College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM) on Tuesday.

The event followed the Lahore edition of the ‘Mangolicious’ event which was held earlier this month. ‘Mangolicious’ was a part of the activities undertaken by the ‘USPakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development’ (AMD) to promote the Pakistani mango and its export to international markets.

John Smith Sreen, the Sindh Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and USAID Sindh Deputy Director Michael Hryshchyshyn witnessed students displaying their culinary skills using different varieties of mangoes on Tuesday’s culinary competition.

“Despite being one of the world’s leading producers of mangoes, Pakistan exports less than 10% of its total production to the global market. The US Government, through USAID, is determined to increase access to new markets for Pakistani mango farmers while ensuring compliance with international grading standards and export protocols,” noted Smith Sreen. “We want to make Pakistani mangoes as competitive as they can be in international markets,” he added.

During the competition, eight teams comprising of three students each, were asked to prepare mango-based dishes within an hour. The dishes and beverages prepared by the students demonstrated the creativity and skills imparted by COTHM. The US diplomats distributed certificates to the participants at the end of the culinary event.

USAID launched the US-Pakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development in February 2015 to improve the ability of Pakistan’s commercial agriculture and livestock sectors to compete in international and national markets. This partnership acts as a catalyst for development and investment thus resulting in increased incomes and generating employment opportunities.

Published in Daily Times, August 1^st 2018.