Tropical fruit a sweetener to bilateral ties

South Asian nation aims to export 125,000 tons of mangoes this season as cooperative links increase

The Pakistani embassy in China recently held the Pakistan Mango Fest in Beijing, using the fruit as a medium to deepen economic and cultural ties with China.

As the world's sixth-largest mango exporter, Pakistan boasts more than 200 varieties of mango, with annual export volumes reaching 120,000 to 130,000 metric tons over the past decade.

The Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association announced the start of its 2025 mango exports in May, with a target of 125,000 tons this season and an expected export value of $100 million.

At the event, Saleem Mandviwalla, chairman of Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, expressed his hope to promote trade in high-quality agricultural products between China and Pakistan, deepen the friendship between the countries, and expand cooperation in agricultural technology, cold-chain logistics, and processing sectors.

Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, said that Pakistani mangoes are the culinary ambassadors of his nation. On a commercial front, they are engines of opportunity, sustaining the livelihoods of countless farmers and embodying the hopes of rural communities.

With cold-chain technology, mangoes can travel thousands of miles to enter the Chinese market. They have become a new link of cooperation, blending the resilience of traditional agriculture with the innovation of modern trade, the ambassador said.

Zhang Qingfeng, vice-president of the China Fruit Marketing Association, said that as the world's largest fruit consumption market, China has always regarded Pakistan as a key supplier of high-quality mangoes.

In 2023, Pakistan's mango exports to China exceeded 115,000 tons — worth $80 million — making China one of the fastest-growing markets for Pakistani mango exports, according to Zhang.

He highlighted achievements in the China-Pakistan mango cooperation. Through cold-chain logistics collaboration, the transport time for Pakistani mangoes has been reduced by 50 percent, and the loss rate has significantly decreased.

Enhanced partnership

"The preservation technology and deep processing equipment provided by China have helped to enhance the added value of Pakistani mangoes. Additionally, e-commerce platforms have established dedicated sections where peak daily sales surpassed 50,000 kilograms, with a satisfaction rate of 98 percent," Zhang said.

He also proposed three major areas for future cooperation: mutual recognition of quarantine standards, integration of industry chains, and brand collaboration, with the aim of doubling the export volume within three years.

Hashmi said China possesses extensive expertise and technical reserves in seed development, pest control and pesticide application. The country also has advanced experience in areas such as efficient fertilizer utilization; smart irrigation systems; and artificial intelligence planting technologies, including intelligent mango harvesting and long-term preservation.

Chinese companies have strong capabilities in agricultural technology, and Pakistan is looking forward to collaborating with them, he added.

"We have taken proactive steps in brand building. For example, five major mango varieties have been registered as Pakistani geographical indication-marked products. We have also enhanced brand influence by participating in international trade fairs and collaborating with fruit and vegetable companies and associations," he said.

The Pakistani embassy in China will hold a business-to-business investment conference on Thursday, with the fruit and vegetable industry being one of the key sectors to be promoted, he revealed.

Long Yuxiang, chairman of the China International Cultural Communication Center, said that mango is the fruit of the tree of friendship, symbolizing good wishes and goodwill of the peoples of China and Pakistan.

"China-Pakistan friendship is not the work of a single generation but a mission passed down through generations," Long said. "As we approach the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, both parties should use culture as a bridge and cooperation as wings to jointly write a new chapter of friendship, bringing more highquality Pakistani agricultural products into Chinese households."

Training program

Technological training has been a highlight of the agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif encouraged his country's young agricultural graduates leaving for China to learn modern Chinese practices to help transform Pakistan's farming sector.

Addressing a ceremony in late August for the second batch of 300 students under the Prime Minister's Initiative for Capacity Building of 1,000 Agricultural Graduates in China, a government-to-government program launched in 2024, Sharif said Pakistan's progress was linked with the growth of its agricultural sector.

He said Pakistan's future prosperity is tied to strengthening the agrarian economy, which remains the backbone of the country.

He noted that the initiative was launched after he visited China's Shaanxi province, where he was impressed by the quality of practical training at local agricultural universities. He thanked the Chinese leadership for extending support to Pakistan in promoting youth development and agricultural modernization.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, congratulated the students on obtaining valuable learning opportunities and believed that they would become pillars of Pakistan's national development and a bridge for China-Pakistan friendship.

Mutasaddiq Ali, an agricultural engineer specializing in farm mechanization, told Xinhua News Agency that he had "very high expectations "on the training.

"China has developed the latest precision agriculture techniques, and if such technologies are introduced to Pakistan, they will be highly beneficial for our farmers," he said, adding that higher yields and reduced losses would support rural livelihoods.

Zamir Ahmed Awan is the deputy director of the China Study Center at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan, and founding chairman of the Pakistani think tank Global Silk Route Research Alliance. He wrote in a recent article on the Asia Pacific Daily news website that for Pakistan and China, agriculture forms the cornerstone of their enduring and mutually beneficial relationship.

With the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, the two nations continue to deepen their ties and agriculture is emerging as a fundamental pillar of bilateral cooperation and future prosperity, Awan said.

China's vast agricultural research ecosystem can play a transformative role in building Pakistan's capacity. Moreover, collaboration with Chinese research institutions and universities offers Pakistan the opportunity to train its young agricultural scientists and engineers, he added.

Agriculture is not just an economic sector, but a source of employment, culture, identity, and resilience, Awan said. He added that in this context, China-Pakistan cooperation is emerging as a model of South-South collaboration rooted in mutual respect, shared challenges, and collective goals.

Xinhua contributed to this story.