Mango harvesting in limbo as labourers stranded

KARACHI: Mango traders and growers are worried over labour shortage in orchards due to lockdown-led transport unavailability as harvesting is just around the corner, it was learnt on Monday.

Mango plucking is about to start in Sindh from next week and unavailability of workers raises concerns for mango growers and exporters.

All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) invited attention of the Sindh and Punjab chief ministers towards the unavailability of workers in Sindh that depends on workers from the neighbouring province for mango harvesting.

“Since railway and public transport are not operating due to lockdown, movement of labourers from Punjab to Sindh is very limited,” the association said in a letter.

“If the labourers from Punjab do not reach to Sindh during the time when mango crop is ready, besides affecting growers it would badly hit the export of mango and the economy of our country would be unable to fight against the challenge of coronavirus.” The government has already exempted agriculture sector from lockdown, but people movement is restricted due to unavailability of transportation. Mangoes in Sindh are produced over 500,000 acres. Growers need labours from southern Punjab, including Bahawalpur, Multan and Muzaffargarh, for plucking, grading, packing and loading the processed mango boxes into trucks.

The crop gets ready for plucking by first week of May in Sindh, while it is in June in Punjab. Last year, mango production stood at 1.5 million tons with 20 percent in Sindh and less than 80 percent from the Punjab.

Grower Zulfiquar Yousufani said Pakistan’s mango production is more than local consumption and if borders with Iran and Afghanistan are not opened and export is not allowed through air routes, it would be a great loss for the growers and the country.

Last year, the country recorded five-year high mango exports of 115,000 tons and earned $80 million in foreign revenue. Till September last, the exports surpassed the target of 100,000 tons. Exporter Waheed Ahmed said the country is currently in desperate need of foreign exchange and should not be deprived of an opportunity of mango exports.

“It’s imminent that during this stressful condition we shall keep a balance between the lockdown and economic activities so that we can steer the country out of this natural catastrophe,” Ahmed, patron in chief of PFVA said. Mango export accounts for around 10 to 11 percent of horticulture exports. An industry estimate said the export share could be increased to 25 percent within next five years and could earn $200 million in exports revenue. The country exports 60 percent of mango through sea, 25 percent via land routes and 15 percent by air.

The association called for special transportation for carrying labourers from Punjab to Sindh to avert financial losses in the industry worth Rs100 billion. Workers must be permitted to work in mango orchards during the mango season while they would ensure strict compliance with the standard operating procedures to curb spread of the virus, it said.

Mango exports usually continue till mid of October. Aggressive marketing last year led mangoes to 25 different countries. Exports were increased due to refocus on conventional Asian markets of UAE, Iran, Afghanistan, Europe and UK.

PFVA, in the past, complained of inadequate facilities to ensure smooth exports via land and sea routes. “There is a need to pay more attention to high value and huge potential promising markets of Japan, USA, South Korea and China to exploit potential of these markets,” it said.