Pakistan Horti-Fresh Processing Hot Water Treatment (HWT), a joint venture of the Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) and Durrani Associates, is ready to serve the exporters as Common Facility Centre. The Board of Directors of Pakistan Horti-Fresh Processing (Pvt) Ltd has approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to facilitate mango exporters of the country.
According to a spokesperson of the PHDEC, Pakistan Horti-Fresh Processing (Pvt) Ltd has been established as Joint Venture between Durrani Associates and PHDEC through funding from Export Development Fund (EDF). The purpose of the project is to meet SPS requirements of importing countries of mango and other horticulture products, quarantine pest management, post-harvest disease management and improved produce quality and shelf life.
The project includes activities like sorting, cleaning, washing, hot water treatment (against fruit flies on 48 degree Celsius for 60-65 minutes with pulp temperature of 46.7 degree Celsius), and drying, grading, packing and cold treatment. The project has been approved by mango importing countries such as Australia, South Korea, Mauritius, Lebanon, etc as HWT facility of international standard.
Working as Common Facility Centre, Pakistan Horti-Fresh Processing (Pvt) Ltd is open for all interested mango exporters for processing. Speaking about the project Chief Executive Officer-PHDEC Bashir Hussain said that in the wake of looming danger of ban on Pakistani mangoes by the European Union, the approval of SOPs shows strong commitment of PHDEC and Durrani Associates to facilitate mango exporters to meet the SPS requirements of importing countries.
The processing at Pakistan Horti-Fresh will help mango exporters to avoid unnecessary interception of mango consignments in the European Union and other destinations. He further said that it is in the benefit of all stakeholders that they use the processing plant as Common Facility Centre to enhance mango exports from Pakistan.
