Cold Storage Facility At Multan Airport To Improve Mango Exports: Growers

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jul, 2021 ) :Mango growers on Sunday urged the government to establish a cold storage facility at the Multan International Airport as it would improve export of the fruit and help generate maximum foreign exchange.

"The exporters and farmers have to travel to Lahore, Islamabad or Karachi for shipment of mangoes, which increases cost and reduces profit margin," Muhammad Tariq Khan, former president of Progressive Mango Growers Multan (PMGM) said talking to APP on Sunday.

He stated that the cold storage facility at the Multan Airport would help keep perishable commodities safe and secure. Sometimes, the flights operation underwent delay and in that situation, the cold storage would be of vital importance, he added.

Saleem Akhtar Mahay, a progressive farmer, hailed the Agriculture Transformation Plan of the incumbent government. Due to the steps taken by the government, there was record production of different crops, including mango, sugarcane, maize, wheat and rice during the current year.

The Pakistani mangoes, he said, were highly popular across the world. As the Multan International Airport had no cold storage facility, the growers had to transport mangoes to Lahore or Karachi by trucks or other vehicles for export, which only increased their cost reducing the profit margin, he added.

He also suggested that the middle man's role in the sale-purchase of agricultural commodities should be abolished. The middle men were deeply entrenched in the grains, vegetables and fruits marketing system, and only the government through effective policies could reduce their role and help the growers to get maximum price of their produce, he added.

Ahmed Nawaz, another farmer also proposed the government to ensure that the growers get full payment of their produce and suggested for construction of a cold storage facility at the Multan Airport.