Who ate the most Pakistani mangoes?

Pakistani mangoes are not just popular locally but are famous around the world for their sweet and delicious flavours with their exports generating profits for the growers annually.

This year around, mangoes from Pakistan were exported to at least 42 countries around the globe, earning the country $46.7 million in exports, the Ministry of Commerce said.

However, which country consumed the most Pakistani mangoes was revealed during the National Assembly session on Friday.

In the lower house session, the commerce ministry said the United Kingdom was the largest importer of Pakistani mangoes this year with the country buying the fruit worth $13.2 million followed by the UAE at $9.2 million.

Other countries that imported the sweet tropical fruit from Pakistan included Germany, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

Germany bought at least $1.9 million worth of the fruit, Oman imported mangoes worth $1.7 million, Saudi Arabia stood at $1.3 million, while mangoes worth $2.2 million were also exported to Afghanistan.

The exports from the aforementioned countries collectively accounted for at least $4.4 million.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan earned at least $46.7 million by exporting mangoes to 42 nations in the current financial year, while the export volume stood at 13,681 metric tons.

Earlier this year, the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (APFVEA) feared Pakistan wouldn't meet its export target for mangoes owing to the impact of climate change in the country.

APFVEA patron-in-chief Mian Waheed Ahmed was of the view that the effects of climate change emerged as the biggest threat to mango production, which could be gauged from the fact that mango production had declined for the third year in a row.

Pakistan produces 1.8 million metric tons of mangoes and of that, 70% is produced in the Punjab, 29% in Sindh and 1% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Due to climate change this year, however, the production of the fruit in Punjab was 35% to 40%, while in Sindh it was less than 20%. Therefore, the total production was feared to be reduced by 600,000 metric tons.

Speaking with The News in July this year, Ahmed said long winters, rains and hailstorms followed by a severe heatwave have changed the pattern of agricultural diseases with the season.