A delegation of Chinese importers recently visited Pakistan's Sindh Agricultural University to discuss opportunities with scientists and growers in Sindh's mango-producing areas. The two sides decided to jointly promote the mango value-added plan to enter the more lucrative international market.

According to reports, Sindh Agricultural University is studying how to increase the added value of mango, mango processing and by-products for export to the international market. The Chinese investors plan to import 6,000 tonnes of mangoes from Sindh and Punjab, which will be mainly used for processing at the initial stage. Not only do these mangoes need to be rich in flesh, but they also need to ripen between May and September.

In 2021, Pakistan exported only 37.42 tons of fresh and dried mangoes to China, and this figure dropped to 23.95 tons in 2022, accounting for less than 0.36% of China's mango imports. Pakistan is very optimistic about China's market potential, said Dr Nur Ullah, senior scientific officer at Pakistan's National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), saying that China has helped Pakistan cope with a number of challenges and with advanced technology, Pakistan can also overcome the difficulties. Pakistan needs to strengthen ties with China to modernize its agriculture and improve its competitiveness in the global market.