LAHORE: The US government has recently set up three irradiation facilities for mangoes in the states of Mississippi, Texas and Iowa amid rising demand for the fruit, a step that could help Pakistani mango exporters increase sales.

The plants have been designed by adopting specific phytosanitary and safeguarding procedure to prevent the introduction of harmful pests.

According to a press release issued by the Punjab Agri­culture Department, the fruit and vegetables were earlier being treated at the Chicago irradiation plant to kill pathogens before induction into the US markets.

Irradiation of mangoes to be exported to the United States is mandatory. The fruit cannot be transported and cleared directly to the United States or could be hand-carried by passengers.

Pakistan is world’s sixth-largest mango exporter. Punjab has mango orchards spanning 271,700 acres with an average annual production of 1.28 million tonnes.

An official of the Mango Research Institute in Multan said mango exports to the United States were not more than 100 tonnes a year, but they could be increased after the setting up of new facilities. A major hurdle in exporting mangoes to the Unites States was distance, he added.

DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES: Meanwhile, the Punjab Pro­vincial Development Working Party, in its 56th meeting of the current fiscal year, has app­roved five development schemes in various sectors with an estimated cost of a little over Rs3 billion.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2017