Pakistani mangoes reach China via new cargo route

LAHORE – China recently received second shipment of mangoes through a recently inaugurated cargo flight, the director of a Pakistani company has said.

Adnan Hafeez, Director of Imperial Ventures (Pvt) Ltd told Associated Press Pakistan that YTO Express used the cargo flight to transfer one tonne of Sindhri variety between Lahore and Nanning, the capital of China's southwest autonomous province of Guangxi.

"Since we have been collaborating with this airline for the previous four years, we feel at ease carrying on our business relationship with them," he added.

After customs clearance and the required certifications by the appropriate Chinese authorities, the Pakistani king of fruits—known for its huge size, golden colour, and plentiful sweetness—will be shared with significant Chinese B2B clients and outlets for tasting.

Adnan's team has been trying to improve mango quality as well as packaging and storage methods ever since they started supplying Pakistani mangoes to the Chinese market a few years ago, he said.

''In order to increase quality at the source, we recently carried out mango bagging activities in partnership with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). More attention will be paid to cost-cutting, as air freight is still expensive. To save costs, We are attempting to send the unripe and the bulk packing mangoes," he added.

According to Adnan, the first cargo of mangoes from Pakistan arrived in Nanning on May 31 and were immediately sent to a significant fruit market in China.

A Guangzhou-based company informed CEN in an interview that another shipment of Sindhri mangoes weighing 3.5 tonnes will arrive in Nanning on June 10 and will be sold both online and offline.