by Meng Lingjuan

 

Through social media, Economic Daily-China Economic Net reporter recorded the hoisting of the banner of the "Batie Mango Flight" in Yunnan Province on the night of August 10, the 106-minute customs clearance efficiency of Kunming Customs and the sweat of the courier carrying the first consignment of imported Pakistani Mango this year. While those scenes were late for altogether 12 days.

 

As early as the beginning of July, Pakistani commercial officials in Japan and Australia began to post mangoes on Twitter, but mangoes exported to China have not arrived yet at that time. Mango is the king of fruits in Pakistan, and one of the representative categories of Pakistan to earn foreign exchange through exports. According to Pakistani media, Pakistani mango exports in 2019 hit a record of 115,000 tons, of which 120 tons were exported to Japan, a record high.

 

 

 

 

Adnan Hafez, a Pakistani who operated the first consignment of mango export to China this year, was also the manipulator of the first consignment of Pakistani kinnow exported to China during the epidemic outbreak in February. Hafiz had originally planned to export mango to China before the traditional Eid al-Adha and booked a flight from Lahore to Kunming on July 29. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, he had no chance to visit China. For him, the smooth delivery of mangoes from his hometown to Chinese customers is a credit, a greeting and an adherence to the trade between the two countries during the epidemic.

 

"There are few planes this year, and the price of air freight has increased by two to three times. Besides, there are also various uncertainties in customs declaration and clearance between the two countries during the epidemic. Some of my regular clients in China didn't dare to do it when they heard the freight was so expensive. I need to add the consignment above 1.5 tons to get a special discount. The smaller consignment, higher the price," Hafez said.

 

According to Hafez, at present, the only cargo flight from Lahore to China is YTO, which leaves Lahore at 12:00 noon and arrives in Kunming at 7 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He needs to transport fresh mangoes to Lahore Airport in the afternoon of the day before the plane takes off and provide all the information required for customs declaration.

 

At 2 a.m. Islamabad time on July 28, Hafiz told China Economic Net that he had found that some fruits did not match the packaging specifications during the factory inspection and worried that the customer would refuse to accept. In addition, considering postponing one flight, that is, arriving on Friday night, the customs clearance and delivery time will meet the weekends and uncertain factors will increase, so the first export plan to China was postponed.

 

 

 

It is well-known that Pakistan is the sixth largest mango producer in the world, while unaware of the background that China itself is the second largest one. The price of imported Pakistani mangoes is 18.6 yuan per catty, which is comparatively affordable in recent years. In June last year, the price of Pakistani mango exported by a Gwadar company was 21.8 yuan per catty. Nowadays, the reporter saw in several supermarkets in Beijing that the prices of golek mango, red mango and kiett mango were 9.5 yuan,10.9 yuan and 6.98 yuan per catty respectively, which means that the retail price of mango in the Chinese market is about half that of imported mangoes from Pakistan.

 

"I really want to control the export costs, but the air freight cannot be lowered, so I have always wanted to try sea transportation. For kinnow, 20-day was bearable, because the shelf life of kinnow is more than 60 days. But when I told the logistics company I wanted to ship mangoes, they all refused. Compared to kinnow, mangoes are more sensitive and have a shelf life of only around 20 days. Considering the sales period, regular shipping wouldn't work, and no one wants to take a risk for such a small quantity," Hafez said.

 

The Chilean cherries exported to China by sea mostly adopt controlled atmosphere packaging (CAP) technology, that is, to keep goods fresh by increasing the proportion of nitrogen in the package. When co-hosting the Pakistani Mango Festival with the Pakistani Embassy in China last year, China Economic Net introduced the Chinese technology of CAP. 

 

"It takes around $1,200 to $1,500 per container. A container with CAP costs more than $7,000. Such container is not available around Pakistan and needs to be transferred to Karachi port specially," Hafez said.

 

"The volume of exports is too small. If you want to make a profit, you must have a certain quantity, sustainable and better source of land transport and logistics. The way mangoes are exported to China now is like a kid’s game, it’s not real commercialization," Hafez added.

 

The reporter checked the database of China Customs with HS code and found that the total number of fresh or dried mangoes imported from Pakistan to China was 19.89 tons in 2019, which is less than one-sixth of those to Japan. In this regard, Hafez said: “Japanese fruit prices are originally high, and mangoes are relatively rare in Japan, so the price of imported mangoes, including air freight, is affordable for Japanese consumers. Some people in Pakistan specialize in exporting mangoes to Japan. They live in their own comfort zone and have little interest in the Chinese market. There's a ceiling, maybe nobody can break through. The demand of Pakistani mango in China is too small, and we are not in an option list right now.”

 

 

 

Like Hafez, who was born in the 1980s, Gao Shang, head of cargo product of Air Freight Department of YTO Express, made Hafez confident in his first mango export plan to China. Gao told the reporter that YTO provided "port-to-door" service for Pakistani mangoes, that is, Hafez was responsible for transporting the mangoes to the airport and YTO did the rest, including recommending Pakistani customs agents, making export documents and so on, until mangoes were delivered to Chinese customers. To push the first consignment of mangoes this year, Gao even offered Hafez a lower freight per kilo than last year.

 

"In the early stage, we can make no profit or even bear certain loss. We also hope to make a match to boost the mango industry between China and Pakistan." Gao said. In order to escort these mangoes, apart from preparing the freight space, Gao also brought together China’s ‘top-level configuration’ of customs declaration, transshipment and delivery. Those professionals tried their best in different fields. "I promise Hafez to deliver the mangoes to all Chinese customers within two days after customs clearance," Gao said.

 

As one of the first customs declarers in the 1990s, Yuan Mei, chairman of Yunnan Yijinyuan, has facilitated several first imports of live seafood from Southeast Asia, tropical fish, South Asian hair and so on. On the evening of August 10, 3-hour countdown before the flight arrived at Yunnan Changshui Airport, Yuan drove a Porsche to the airport. "The unit price of the mango I just received is inconsistent with the forecast one. I'm coordinating to make sure everything is well." Yuan answered the phone via Bluetooth while driving and told reporters about various adventures she encountered in customs clearance. "It's not a big problem. I expect it will be cleared by nine o'clock. Our staff workers are already there. Now it offers two steps to complete customs declaration, which is very convenient. You can also make an appointment for customs staff to work overtime." Yuan said.

 

Wearing a buzz cut, Chairman of Boqiang Logistics Li Qiang sits at a long table with a cup of tea on it. He has experience in the transportation of gold bars and armed police equipment. "I’m in charge of transferring mangoes from international cargo to domestic passenger cabin with freight this time. I’ve been engaged in this industry for 20 years. YTO has transported a lot of goods from Bangladesh and Pakistan recently, with an average of 15 tons per shift. Green crabs from Karachi are usually sent to Shanghai. This consignment of mango was mentioned a week ago and will leave for Shanghai at 7:25 tomorrow morning on the earliest flight," Li said. When the reporter made detailed inquiry about the differences between Chinese and Japanese customers, Li said, "Foreign customers usually ask when the goods can arrive at the earliest, while Chinese customers ask the price."

 

Wu Jinzhao, head of Marketing Department of YTO Express, Kunming, is in charge of delivery in Kunming. When the reporter occasionally asked about the mango flight banner, Wu and his colleague made it ready within one hour, and prepared two banners with a length of 3 meters and 5 meters respectively. Ying Xutao, freight sales manager of Air Freight Department of YTO Express, is in charge of delivery in Shanghai. "If a big customer orders goods collection like fresh products, we will directly send it by cold chain truck without sorting, as sorting will affect the time efficiency," Ying said.

 

Thus, the Pakistani mango flight arrived in Kunming at 19:03 pm on August 10; Customs clearance of 330 boxes of mango finished at 20:49 pm; 206 boxes were sent to Shanghai at 7:25 am on August 11; the cold chain truck finished loading at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport at 13:45 pm on August 11; the biggest customer of this year's first consignment, also the buyer of 170 boxes of mango has surfaced at 15:10 pm in Shanghai Jinshan District.

 

 

 

“If the family of our overseas staff can taste Pakistani mangoes in China, it feels like they’re getting closer. It’s just a subtle feeling,” Zhou Ning, deputy general manager of Shanghai Challenge Textile Co., did not refuse the reporter’s sudden arrival. "If we did contribute a little bit to boost Pakistan's economy by this, we are willing to do even though it is a small action. We are a private enterprise without any background. We have been in Pakistan for 6 years and have been regarded as a pioneer in the apparel industry. We work as usual during the epidemic. The Pakistani government has always supported us. Pakistan’s re-export trade is tax-free, which has considerable advantages. If more good products from Pakistan can be brought to China in the future, I think it would be pretty good."

 

Knowing that the biggest customer of the first consignment of Pakistani mango is from Shanghai, the Consul General of Pakistan in Shanghai Hussain Haider said: “Pakistan produces mangoes of good quality. Mango is not only a product, it’s a symbol. The first order after the epidemic has more meaning than ever, and both people’s joint efforts make this successful. After all, the impact of the epidemic on trade is a short term phenomenon. It's always important to sustain the links so that the momentum in trade and economic relations between the two countries can be maintained We believe that exports are the engine of growth and job creation in Pakistan.”