Mr Babar Khan Durrani, Marketing Director of Durrani Associates, believes the Department for Plant Protection in Pakistan, which must check the quarantine status of the mangoes, has failed its duties. He assures that they are approved by numerous countries, including Australia, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Iran. Also, “last year we shipped 5,000 tonnes of mangoes to Europe and there was not a single interception.”
He believes that, “the Department for Plant Protection should hire entomologists on the higher posts so they can detect any non-quarantine pests on products to be exported. We are the largest exporter to Europe, so if there are any quarantine issues, we’ll be the most affected. I thereby kindly request Pakistani authorities to review their policies to ensure problems are detected on board and not at destination; we are working very hard to maintain our quality.”
For his part, Mr Wajahat Gardaizi, of Mumtaz Agri Farm, explains that, in Pakistan, all farms are registered by the Department of Plant Protection and everything possible has been done to prevent the fruit fly problem. "We have a protocol on hot water treatment, diligently carried out by growers, processors, exporters, as well as Pakistan’s Quarantine Department.”
He said the interception is a source of concern, "Since for the last two years we have been taking all measures to curtain the presence of fruit flies in our orchards and to make sure such an event does not take place again in the future.”
Lastly, Tariq Khan, of Lutfabad Fruit Farm, confirms that mangoes undergo a hot water treatment at 40 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes, so if there was an interception it can mean two things: either the mangoes were not hot water treated, or some non-treated mangoes were unintentionally mixed in the shipment.
He says that the Department for Plant Protection is carrying out meetings at this moment, but also that this needs to be looked at by the facility carrying out the hot water treatment, as while it is the responsibility of the exporter to see that the fruit is not mixed, inspectors deployed on the facility should check. It is in Pakistan’s interest for this not to happen again, especially now with the season in full swing.
For more information:
Durrani Associates
Babar Khan Durrani
mob 0092-3212100992
email durrani_associates@yahoo.com
www.durrani-associates.com
Lutfabad Farms & Processing Facility
Author: Juan Zea Estellés / Yzza Ibrahim