Pakistani mangoes arrive in UAE; will they be cheaper this year?

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The king of fruits has arrived in the UAE. Residents have eagerly awaited the popular varieties of mangoes from Pakistan, and the first shipment has finally arrived in the Emirates.

This year, the crop of mangoes in Pakistan has been slightly better than the previous year, which means mangoes are likely to be sweeter and priced better due to the weak rupee. The crop was impacted by the changing global climate change last year, heatwave and drought in the South Asian country.

"First shipment of over 90 containers of Sindhri and Almas varieties of the mangoes have arrived by sea, and quality is very good, fully-ripen and nice aroma," said Mustafa Altaf, managing director of Altaf Hussain Trading Co.

"Dusehri, Saroli, Anwar Ratool, Gulas Khaas, Langra and others will be shipped to the UAE following these two varieties. Usually, the supply for mangoes continues till September unless the heavy monsoon rains disrupt it," said Altaf.

Gulraiz Yaseen, managing director of the Pakistan Supermarket chain, said consignments of mangoes by air have already started, while by sea will start in the coming days.

He said the prices would likely be either the same as the previous year or slightly lower due to the rupee's weakness against the UAE dirham. Rupee has weakened significantly against the Emirati currency in the past year, falling from 54.4 in May 2022 to 80.4 this month.

Pakistan is one of the world's largest exporters of mangoes after India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. In addition to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the UK, the US, Canada, EU countries, and Singapore are major export destinations of Pakistani mangoes.

Around a dozen varieties of Pakistani mangoes are exported, including Chaunsa, Langra, Sindhri, Anwar Ratool, Dusehri, Saroli, Almas, Fajri and others.

The UAE is one of the top export destinations of Pakistani mangoes, with exports worth millions of dollars during the three-month season.

"This year, the season is slightly delayed because the heat was not so intense this year, but the crop is better."

He said the mangoes should be priced comparatively more competitively than last year. Currently, the wholesale price for the first batch costs just over Dh30 per box, which weighs around six kilograms.

"The supply will increase in the coming weeks and months. Though, prices will depend on the supply and demand of mangoes. But in the past, prices have gone down to Dh18-20 per box as well in case of supply," he said.