Pakistan unlikely to export mangoes to Japan

Pakistan is unlikely to export mangoes to Japan this year due to the lack of proper attention and less preparation to install vapour heat treatment plant in Pakistan, which is the basic condition of the Japan government before lifting 16-year-old ban on Pakistani mangoes, sources said on Thursday. The Ministry of Commerce did not pay any heed to the condition to arrange VHT plant on time and that is why it is likely that Pakistani mangoes cannot be exported to Japan on commercial purpose, they said.

A few months back, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Ministry of Commerce floated a tender to install the VHT plant in Pakistan and in response three Japanese companies submit the quotation to invest $4 million for 5MT VHT plant in Pakistan, but because of slow response of the ministry and the TDAP, the decision was not taken so far, the sources said, adding that now the government is considering to cancel the tender and invite new applications, which will further delay the plant installation, the sources said.

A source said that Japanese companies who are manufacturing VHT plants took at least three to four months to manufacture the plant and one month needed to ship it to Pakistan. The sources also said that the Ministry of Commerce and the TDAP should look into the matter on an immediate basis.

Source: thenews.com.pk