Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) is implementing mango supply chain project under Australia-Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkages Programme (APASLP). Chief operating officer PHDEC, Muhammad Iqbal said the partnership is a combination of all stakeholders, including research and industry from both the countries.

`The project is working on improving supply chains for selected markets and for the last two years project has been working in three markets namely UK, Dubai and Singapore`. Consul General of Pakistan in Shanghai Dr Khan extended maximum support to Australian counterparts in conducting China market research with particular reference to Pakistan mangoes, he added.

Iqbal said China prefers treatment of mango at 48 degree Celsius for 60 minutes, while Iran asks for the similar treatment at 45 degree Celsius for 75 minutes. The Consulate General is planning to introduce different varieties of Pakistani mangoes through chain superstores. Shanghai Municipality and three provinces namely Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are the fastest growing regions of China and contribute about 18 percent to the GDP of the country, which was $4.9 trillion in 2009.

The per capita income and purchasing power of this area is also much higher than the rest of the country. At present only three mango processing units in Pakistan have been approved by the AQSIQ (Quarantine Department of China). All three are located in Karachi. According to the MoU signed between Pakistan and China, mangoes are to be treated in hot water as per their requirement otherwise will not be permitted to enter in China market.