Preventative measures are being taken by the Pakistani mango industry to ensure the fruit does not get banned in the European Union.

Several Pakistani authorities are joining forces to ensure phytosanitary and quarantine standards are met, so that exports to the European market do not get turned away over contamination issues, including fruit flies, as has happened with the Indian industry.

Among the steps is the fact that from now on only packhouses and farms approved by the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) can be involved in the export of mangoes that have not gone through hot water dipping treatment (HWDT).

Last week, different organizations, mango growers, exporters and industry representatives met in the country's capital Islamabad to discuss prevention methods. The meeting was called by the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, which is leading the charge to warn farmers and exporters about the importance of preventing a ban in Europe.

Recently, www.freshfruitportal.com reported how Pakistani company Durrani Associates was working alongside a government department to operate a facility to treat and cleanse mangoes - a system which eradicates pests - before they are shipped to the EU.

The meeting deemed that exporters can use this type of facility to safeguard the fruit or alternatively if no HWDT has been carried out, use packhouses that have been judged up to scratch by the DPP and been grown on farms inspected and cleared by the department, which is part of the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.

Also involved in the meeting was the All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetables Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA).

"We are taking this issue very seriously in Pakistan. We are taking preventative steps and have started to do a lot of work on this in the proper manner because it’s very important to us not to be banned or have any problems with our mangoes as this would be a very bad situation for the country, like it is in India," a PFVA spokesperson told www.freshfruitportal.com.

An official from the DPP also confirmed farms were being visited across the major mango growing regions of the country as part of an ongoing program where standards would be monitored.

If farms do not meet the DPP requirements, growers will be given a set period of time to improve and will then be visited again.

Related story: Pakistan's mango exports in hot water

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