Pakistan’s mango exports to Iran seem to be facing a threat of ban due to the negligence of Pakistani authorities in observing sanitary standards. Three Pakistani consignments were intercepted last year, wherein the fruit was found to be infected with fruit flies. Iran had earlier banned Pakistan’s kinnow imports due to the same reason, Pakistani daily newspaper The Express Tribune reported on its website on Tuesday. Of the total 60,000 tons of mango Pakistan exports annually, 15,000 tons (25%) are exported to Iran. “Pakistan’s Department of Plant Protection recently issued a phyto-sanitary certificate to a Multan-based company named Ramzan Associates for exporting 95 tons of mangoes to Iran without examining if the commodity had undergone the essential hot water treatment or not,” said a source in the Pakistani Ministry of National Food Security and Research, adding that this could lead to a complete ban on mango exports to Iran. According to ministry sources, product inspection through an expert committee along with hot water treatment at 48-degree centigrade for at least 60 minutes is mandatory for the phyto-sanitary certificate. In case Pakistan loses the Iranian market, it would have serious repercussions for its other markets as well, including the European Union, the newspaper concluded.
