By Azeem Ahmed Khan

China offers one of the biggest untapped export opportunities for Pakistan's mango industry, but commercial shipments remain extremely small as high logistics costs, post-harvest constraints and climate-related production challenges continue to hold back exports.

Although Pakistan has been exporting mangoes to China since 2017-18, commercial shipments remain extremely small despite strong consumer demand. Most consignments are sent by air as premium or gift shipments rather than as regular commercial exports, making Pakistani mangoes significantly more expensive than those supplied by competing countries.

Industry experts believe China offers far greater long-term potential than many of Pakistan's traditional export destinations. With its enormous consumer base, rising demand for premium imported fruit and geographical proximity, China could emerge as one of Pakistan's most valuable mango markets if exporters succeed in reducing logistics costs and strengthening supply-chain efficiency.

They say Pakistan does not face a demand problem in China. Instead, the challenge is making its mangoes consistently competitive through lower logistics costs, stronger orchard management, improved post-harvest handling and an efficient cold chain. According to them, if these bottlenecks are addressed, China can evolve from a niche premium destination into one of the largest growth markets for Pakistani mango exports over the coming decade.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Khawar Nadeem, Manager at the Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC), described China as one of the biggest untapped opportunities for Pakistan's mango industry.

"China is a very potential market for Pakistani mangoes," he said, adding that Chinese consumers highly appreciate the taste and quality of Pakistani fruit.

The biggest obstacle, however, is cost.

According to Nadeem, exporters currently pay around US$2 per kilogram in air freight alone, making Pakistani mangoes far less competitive than fruit supplied by regional producers.

"We are only getting hit in costing," he said.

Pakistan's competitors—including Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines—benefit from shorter and cheaper transport routes into China, enabling them to place fruit on supermarket shelves at significantly lower prices. Industry experts say narrowing this logistics gap will be just as important as improving fruit quality if Pakistan is to build a meaningful presence in the Chinese market.

Another major cost comes from China's mandatory hot water treatment requirement for imported mangoes to eliminate fruit fly risks. The treatment costs around Rs20-25 per kilogram and also accelerates ripening, reducing shelf life during transportation.

Nadeem said PHDEC is continuing discussions with Chinese authorities to seek relaxation of the requirement, arguing that lower compliance costs would substantially improve Pakistan's competitiveness.

Despite these challenges, Pakistan has strengthened its export infrastructure.

In May this year, seven additional hot water treatment facilities were registered with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), increasing the total number of approved facilities from 25 to 32.

According to Nadeem, the additional facilities will improve compliance with Chinese import regulations while enabling more exporters to enter the market.

He said three Pakistani mango varieties—Sindhri, Mousami Chaunsa and White Chaunsa—have already received an encouraging response from Chinese consumers. Over the past two years, PHDEC has also organised mango festivals, promotional campaigns and "mango diplomacy" initiatives to introduce Pakistani mangoes to Chinese buyers and consumers.

The next major breakthrough, according to Nadeem, could come through road transport.

PHDEC plans to dispatch a trial mango consignment to China by road this year through the Sust border crossing.

He said transportation from Multan to Sust takes around four to five days, while shipments from Karachi require about seven days. Refrigerated containers can safely preserve mangoes for five to seven days, making road transport commercially feasible.

"If the road corridor becomes operational, reefer containers currently serving Gulf markets could also be used for China," he said.

While exporters are working to unlock the Chinese market, production at home has come under increasing pressure.

Nadeem described climate change as the industry's biggest long-term challenge.

He said repeated fluctuations between unusually hot and cold weather have disrupted flowering and fruit setting over the past two to three years, leading to significant fruit drop and reducing the availability of export-quality mangoes.

Although revised official estimates place this year's production at around 2.5-2.6 million tonnes compared with around 2.0 million tonnes last year, he explained that the increase largely reflects Punjab's adoption of satellite-based crop reporting, replacing the earlier manual system.

Using the previous production benchmark of 1.7-1.8 million tonnes, actual fruit availability is estimated to be around 30-35% lower than normal because of adverse weather conditions.

He said the remaining crop generally consists of smaller fruit, although its internal quality, taste and appearance remain good.

"The biggest challenge for us is climate change," he said.

To improve export competitiveness, Nadeem said Pakistan must rehabilitate ageing orchards, gradually adopt small-tree production systems, expand mango bagging and modernise processing facilities.

PHDEC has been importing and distributing protective mango bags from China for the past four years because they are not manufactured locally.

He added that modern packhouses and processing facilities are essential for reducing post-harvest losses and preserving export quality, while exporters must diversify freight options because both air and sea transport have become increasingly expensive.

Apart from production challenges, exporters also faced disruptions this year following the closure of the Afghan border and the conflict involving Iran, which pushed up freight rates and affected access to several regional markets.

Iran remains Pakistan's largest export destination this season, followed by Oman, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Iran also serves as an important transit route for Afghanistan and Central Asian markets.

At the same time, exporters are increasingly targeting higher-value destinations.

Nadeem said five additional Pakistani mango varieties have recently been approved for export to Japan, while Vietnam has also opened its market to Pakistani mangoes.

He said exporters are also focusing more aggressively on the European Union because of significantly higher returns.

Pakistani mangoes sell for around US$3-5 per kilogram in Europe, compared with less than US$1 per kilogram in most Gulf markets, where rising freight costs have further squeezed margins.

However, he believes China offers an even greater long-term opportunity because of its market size and growth potential if logistics costs can be reduced.

Chief Executive of the Multan Mango Growers Association Tariq Khan agreed that cost-effective road transport could fundamentally improve Pakistan's competitiveness in China.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, he said refrigerated truck transport through the Sust border would enable exporters to deliver mangoes to Urumqi within about a week at substantially lower cost than air freight.

"Our mangoes are known worldwide. The demand exists in China, but the real challenge is making them consistently available to Chinese consumers," he said.

Tariq, who is also Director of Operations of Progressive Mango Growers Group, said exporters should establish stronger commercial relationships with Chinese importers, supermarket chains and distributors instead of relying primarily on intermediaries.

He also stressed the need to improve understanding of Chinese customs documentation, quarantine procedures and import regulations, saying properly prepared consignments can often be cleared within one to three days.

Calling for stronger institutional support, he urged Pakistan's embassy and consulates in China to step up promotional activities to build greater consumer awareness in one of the world's largest food markets.

He noted that only around 5% of Pakistan's mango production is exported, indicating considerable room for future growth.

Dr Muhammad Amin, Associate Professor at the Department of Horticultural Sciences at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, said Pakistan's biggest challenge is not the quality of its mangoes but maintaining consistent quality throughout the supply chain.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, he said Pakistan already possesses the treatment facilities required by Chinese quarantine authorities, but exporters need to improve farm management, post-harvest handling and supply-chain discipline to consistently meet the standards of premium markets such as China, Japan and South Korea.

"The issue is not internal quality. Pakistani mangoes can compete with any country in terms of taste. The real challenge is consistency in external quality and maintaining that quality throughout the supply chain," he said.

Dr Amin said farmers, transporters, wholesalers and exporters must work together to preserve fruit quality from the orchard to the final consumer.

He also said climate-related production losses can be reduced through better orchard management, improved plant nutrition and modern production systems such as small-tree orchards, which make harvesting, pest management and quality control more efficient.

Credit: INP-WealthPk