By Arooj Zulfiqar ISLAMABAD, June 16 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan has suffered a 50% decrease in mango production this year due to adverse weather conditions, meaning the country will have less exports and less foreign exchange earnings. Pakistan produces different varieties of mango not only for local consumption but also for export purposes. This year farmers were anticipating rich harvest, but all their dreams were shattered due to early arrival of summer (summer heatwave), which increased the temperatures abnormally. Shortage of water also added to the low productivity. Talking to WealthPK, Dr Nurullah, a senior scientific officer at the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), said this year the mango production dropped to almost half of the previous year’s output caused by severe weather conditions. Effects of climate change took a heavy toll on the fruit production. “This year, summer arrived earlier than usual, and its intensity was also very high. This early rise in temperature triggered the decline in mango production,” he said. “Availability of water is another main reason because the fruit requires abundant quantities of water, especially when it starts ripening,” he said. Waheed Ahmed, patron-in-chief of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Association, said last year mango production was 1.8 million tonnes, but this year’s produce hovered around only 900,000 tonnes, showing a decline of 50%. He said that the main reason behind the decrease in production was the climate change phenomenon, which is resulting in irregular rise or fall in temperatures. He added that frequent windstorms also affected the fruit production. “Due to the low production, mango export target has been reduced from 150,000 tonnes last year to only 125,000 tonnes this year,” Waheed Ahmed informed WealthPK. He further said that growers also faced high cost of transporting the fruit to market. He called for the government’s assistance in overcoming the challenges. “There has never been such a big decline in mango production in the history of Pakistan,” he said, calling for incentives by the government to the farmers to help them use the latest technologies to weather adverse climatic conditions and increase fruit production. Meanwhile, Wang Zihai, President of Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and industry (PCJCCI), said that with China’s advanced technology Pakistan could enhance its mango production. “Pakistan should readily seek Chinese technology in order to modernise its farming sector to help increase output, improve competitiveness in global market and generate vital foreign exchange.” Talking to members of the executive committee of PCJCCI online recently, he stressed the need for using drip irrigation to make up for the lost quantity of water for the mango crop. According to Sarfraz Butt, Vice-President of PCJCCI, China could also assist Pakistan in improving its mango production through the use of modern techniques. He said Beijing had already helped Islamabad a lot in overcoming a host of issues confronting its agriculture sector.