European firms are considering boosting Pakistani mango imports after trial imports by sea reached Marks & Spencer and Morrisons successfully.
The successful arrival of two Pakistani mango sea-shipments into the UK and the Netherlands has sparked interest among European importers into sustained commercial seafreight volumes.
UK importer Univeg-Katope and Dutch-based Solfruit International are considering further Pakistani mango imports by sea after receiving their first-ever sea-freighted GlobalGap-certified Chaunsas from Ali Tareen Farms last week.
Univeg-Katope’s Clive Bayston said that the mangoes’ quality after the three-week voyage was “very encouraging”, and that the fruit’s arrival had sparked a flurry of interest from competitors. Several pallets of Univeg’s fruit were destined for leading M&S and Morrisons.
Solfruit’s Gustavo Rodriguez said he was impressed with the flavour of the fruit, which left Pakistan on 17 July, and was very interested in sustained future sea-shipments of Pakistani mangoes.
“The potential (in Europe) for Pakistani mangoes is huge,” said Rodriguez. “I see this sea-freight turning into a commodity business. Pakistani mangoes are great-tasting fruit that until now have been imported into Europe in tiny volumes by air for niche ethnic consumer markets.”
Shipping by sea can cut transport costs by 50 per cent and therefore deliver a cheaper product to the end consumer and better returns to the grower, he explained. Music to the ears of Pakistan’s mango sector, whose European exports so far this season are down on last year due in part to airfreight hikes.
“We’re not interested in doing great volumes right now, we’re interested in getting it right,” added Rodriguez.
Last week’s arrivals were organised through a USAID-funded project working with Pakistani mango growers.
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