Pakistan is making all-out efforts to export mangoes to the Chinese market in special containers through the land route of the Khunjerab border, said Badar uz Zaman, Commercial Counsellor in Pakistan Embassy, Beijing.
“Efforts are being made to transport mangoes through land route to China and it would be a big achievement if we were able to export it through the Khunjerab border in special containers,” he said while commenting on arrival of first shipment of mangoes in Lanzhou, capital of China’s northwest Gansu province.
The shipment consists of 18 tons of Pakistani fresh Sindhri mangoes dispatched from Lahore.
“It’s a great day because there was a huge demand for Pakistani mangoes in Lanzhou,” he told China Economic Net during the arrival ceremony.
He thanked the Lanzhou local government, China Economic Net, organizers, and other stakeholders for making it possible and said that it is the first time that a completely chartered plane has been hired to transport mangoes from Pakistan to China.
Badar uz Zaman said that in wake of huge demand, a complete chartered plane was arranged to transport mangoes from Lahore.
He remarked that Pakistani mangoes are very popular in other parts of China as well and that has a historical background.
Talking about the export of mangoes to other provinces of China, he said the mangoes could be transported only through air cargo which is always considered an expensive exercise but Chinese “Lanmei Airline” helped to make this shipment possible.
He said that some other airlines also have shown interest in the transportation of mangoes and that may be helpful to reduce the transportation cost.
“We are even trying to transport mangoes through the sea route but previous efforts were not successful because Pakistani mangoes cannot sustain the voyage,” he added.
The commercial counsellor said that shipment cost could be curtailed with the help of importers, exporters, cargo airlines, and Chinese and Pakistani governments and they were making efforts for that purpose.
While talking about the upcoming mango festival scheduled to be held at the Pakistan embassy in Beijing next month, he said, “We have got an overwhelming response about the event and the embassy has received a lot of applications for the registration but they have limited capacity even then still five to six hundred people are expected to participate in the event.”
The exporter and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of Excellent Corporation Company, Ali Raza Hasnain said, all the harvesting of mangoes was conducted under the supervision of the Department of Plant Protection in Pakistan.
“We specially graded it for between 250 grams to 600 grams, not even a single mango is over 600 grams and below 250 grams. Normally, as it is a natural product and nobody has control over it,” he added.
It is very important to mention here that during this hard time of COVID-19, all of the recipes were followed, and all the staff of his company was in quarantine before handling the mangoes.
“The taste and fiber of these mangoes are so good that’s why once you start eating you cannot stop it and we are also expecting new orders from Sichuan and Guangzhou soon,” Ali Raza mentioned.
Max Ma the Chinese importer and Chairman of UNI International Business Consultancy said that it is his fifteenth year working with Pakistani companies and it’s the first time that a complete chartered plane has been used for the transportation of mangoes from Pakistan to China.
He said that they are taking this event as a celebration ceremony of 70 years of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.
Max Ma opined that if we want to increase the export volume of fresh mangoes then we need to focus on the road route because air transportation is very costly.
Salamat Ali, a Pakistani student in Lanzhou while showing his excitement said that he has been studying here for the last three years and unable to eat the mangoes of his hometown (Sindh province).
The student said that he and other Pakistani people in this city would now be able to taste the sweetness of Pakistani mangoes.
It is worth mentioning that in the past, Pakistani traders used to airlift mangoes to Kunming city of southwestern Yunnan province for onward distribution to the markets in other parts of China.