PAKISTAN, CHINA TO BOOST MANGO INDUSTRY THROUGH JOINT EFFORTS: CHINESE EXPERT

BEIJING, Apr 10 (DNA): Pakistan and China would cooperate to boost mango industry through talent exchange, joint project research and constructing demonstration zones.

Combining Pakistan’s rich mango variety resources with China’s cultivation and integrated pest control technology, it is promising to jointly create a top-class mango product said Ni Zhangguang, a mango expert at the Tropical and Subtropical Economic Crops Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

“One of the advantages of Pakistani mangoes is its long harvest period from May to September. There are relatively low mango supply in Chinese market from the end of April to the beginning of June,” he told CEN.

He said, “If Pakistan mango exporters grasp this period, profits can be large. The consumption capacity in China is very high.”

Ni Zhangguang and his team started the promotion of mango planting in Yunnan in the 1980s, which has made a great contribution to the local poverty alleviation.

“We introduced new mango varieties and adopted cultivation techniques to help improve the production and the quality of the products. After our efforts, the price of mango rose from RMB 0.3 per kilogram to RMB 6 per kilogram, and the yield per mund increased from 600 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms.”

‘Our technology plus demonstration zone” mode can be adopted in Pakistan Ni Zhangguang said adding, it was a good way to encourage the farmers to learn new technologies initially.

The demonstration zones were under standardized management. The production, sale and price of mangoes were excellent. Seeing the benefits, farmers took the initiative to purchase mango seedlings and requested to learn techniques, he said.

Ni Zhangguang and his team have been to Pakistan once for the research of mango breeding.

“The potential of Pakistan mangoes is huge”, he said adding Pakistan is rich in natural resources and has suitable climatic conditions for mango planting. Pakistan also has wide mango varieties.

“When we were there, Pakistan friends gave us seeds of Sindhri and Chaunsa for trial planting in Yunnan. They now begin to blossom and bear fruits”, he said.