Mangoes, the king of fruits, have finally reached the desert country of the United Arab Emirates. Residents of the Gulf country are delighted at the arrival of the season's first shipment of Pakistani mangoes. With a bigger crop in Pakistan than last year and the fall of the Pakistani rupee, Emirati authorities expect mango prices to be relatively low.

Mustafa Altaf, managing director of Altaf Hussain Trading Company, said the first shipment of more than 90 containers of Sindhri and Almas mangoes had arrived by sea. The quality is very good, and the mangoes are fully ripe and fragrant.

He said Dusehri, Saroli, Anwar Ratol, Gulas Khas, Langra and other varieties would follow to the UAE. Unless heavy rain disrupts things, supplies will continue until September.

Gulraiz Yasin, managing director of the Pakistan Supermarket chain, said air shipments of mangoes had already begun and sea shipments would start in the coming days.

He said that because the Pakistani rupee has fallen against the Emirati dirham, mango prices will either stay at last year's level or be slightly lower. In May last year the rupee stood at 54.4 against the dirham; this month the figure is 80.4.

Pakistan is one of the world's main mango exporters. Its big markets include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Singapore and European countries.

Pakistan earns millions of dollars every year from mango exports to the Emirates. Gulraiz said a box of mangoes from the first shipment has been priced at a little over 30 dirhams (about Tk 875). A box usually holds six kilograms of mangoes.

He said supplies will increase in the coming weeks, but prices will depend on supply and demand. In the past, when supplies were good, prices have fallen to 18 to 20 dirhams a box.

Based on a report by Khaleej Times.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.