KARACHI: Pakistan can face a ban on export of mangoes to European Union countries as a mango shipment exported from the country has been intercepted by UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and found infested with fruit fly.
Four more cases of fruit fly infestation can invoke EU ban on mango export from Pakistan.
Against this backdrop, the Department of Plant Protection has now decided that no shipment from mango orchards of Sindh and Punjab will be allowed for export to UK and EU countries without hot water treatment with immediate effect irrespective of their origin (registered or unregistered orchards) till further orders.”
In May, the EU, where standards are stricter compared to the US and Australia, banned imports of Indian mangoes because of the fruit fly issue earlier.
Pakistan exported 24,000 tonnes of mango to EU markets last year, fetching over $25 million.
The consignment originated from a registered orchard located in district Jamshoro, Sindh.
