by Cheng Xizhong

 

It was reported that Pakistan has exported 37.4 tons of fresh and dried mangoes to China from January to September 2021, which represents an exciting 10-time increase than the same period last year.

 

That being said, the figure of 37.4 tons is not an unsurpassable amount considering China's huge market. At present, Pakistan's mangoes account for only less than 0.36% of China’s total mango imports. In some major Chinese cities, most mangoes are imported from Southeast Asian countries. 

 

On the other hand, Chinese people are expecting more delicious, high-quality fruits from the friendly neighbor. With the improvement of people's living standards and the pursuit of nutritional diversity, the consumption of the king of fruits is increasing year by year in China. Chinese consumers bought 2,183,000 tons of mangoes in 2018 and 2,440,100 tons in 2019. In 2019, China imported 14,485 tons of fresh and dry mangoes, totaling US $26.597 million.

 

So, there is still a great potential to be explored, which entails joint efforts from China and Pakistan for more Pakistani mangoes to enter the Chinese market. In this regard, the following suggestions may be advisable.

 

First, Pakistani mangoes are cheaper compared with mangoes in other countries. But now the Chinese people pay more attention to quality than price. Therefore, Pakistan should diversify its varieties and produce high-quality mangoes.

 

Second, further efforts are anticipated in mango packaging, preservation, deep processing and transportation. Three-dimensional transportation channels by land, sea, and air should be fully utilized for rapid delivery. Especially in terms of packaging, the maturity and appearance of each box is the key to boosting sales. At the same time, in major Chinese cities, large warehouse supermarkets should be established.

 

Third, in March this year, China-Pakistan Trade Online (CPTO), a platform for Pak-China online trade, was launched. Now, as Chinese people prefer online shopping, the Pakistani side should make full use of this platform for mango exports. To this end, Pakistan's logistics industry needs to keep up.