Sindh's Mango Crisis: Shrinking Orchards, Water Shortages and a Struggle to Protect Exports

Less Land for Sindh's King of Fruits

Sindh's mango orchards covered 58,900 hectares in 2023-24, down from 63,144 hectares a decade earlier, according to official figures. That is a loss of 4,244 hectares, or about 6.7% of the earlier area. For Pakistan's southern province, celebrated for its lush orchards and iconic Sindhri mango, the shrinking footprint puts livelihoods and a prized agricultural trade under pressure.

Production figures tell a more uneven story. Sindh harvested 387,200 tonnes in 2023-24, compared with 329,300 tonnes in 2019-20, an increase of 57,900 tonnes between those years. Yet growers describe a broader deterioration in harvest reliability, fruit quality and the economics of maintaining orchards, with yields falling sharply in some seasons.

Over the past decade, climate change, water shortages, pest infestations and weaknesses in agricultural support have battered the industry. Thousands of farmers depend on the crop, while Pakistan's position in the international mango market rests on producing enough fruit of the size and quality buyers expect.

The pressures connect at almost every stage. Unusual temperatures can damage flowers before fruit develops. Inadequate irrigation then limits the size and sweetness of surviving mangoes. Pests and fungal diseases bring further losses, while electricity, fuel and other production costs continue to squeeze growers and businesses handling the harvest.

For consumers, tighter supplies have meant higher domestic prices and a fruit that is becoming less affordable. Farmers face a different calculation: fewer marketable mangoes, more expensive production and, in some cases, sales at reduced prices or the decision to abandon an orchard. The fruit widely celebrated as the king of fruits is becoming harder to grow profitably.

Weather Disrupts Flowers and Fruit

Mango trees depend on the timing of weather as well as its intensity. Sindh's growers have faced early heatwaves, sudden cold spells, heavy storms and prolonged droughts. These disruptions affect the tree's progression from flowering to fruit development, sometimes causing widespread crop failures.

Temperatures can rise from 28°C to more than 42°C within days when summer arrives early. Such abrupt heat can make blossoms wither before they successfully develop into fruit. Pollination, the transfer of pollen that allows fruit to form, and fruit set, the stage when flowers begin developing into mangoes, are particularly vulnerable.

Prolonged cool conditions bring another problem. Dr. Mir Amanullah Talpur, a grower and researcher in Umerkot, Sindh, describes how extended winters and a late summer affect orchards:

prolonged winters and delayed summers have resulted in reduced yields. The mild weather that lingers until early May negatively impacts mango growth, with the extended cold making the orchards more vulnerable to fungal attacks.

Sindh's mango yield has fallen by as much as 50% in some years. Storms, drought or sudden temperature swings have sometimes destroyed entire harvests. Growers therefore face threats from both unusually hot conditions and a growing season that stays cool for too long.

Water Shortages Reduce the Harvest's Value

Sindh's orchards rely on rivers and canals for irrigation, but persistent shortages leave many growers unable to supply enough moisture. February and March are especially important because water is needed during critical flowering and fruiting stages.

Mir Shah Mohammad Talpur, who manages an orchard covering 450 acres near Hyderabad, describes the effect of inadequate irrigation on the weight of an individual mango:

Look at the size of the mango—it's 970 grams, but this could have been more than 1,000 grams or even closer to 1,100 grams if we provided water to the orchard before harvesting.

Insufficient water can leave mangoes smaller and less sweet, lowering their market value. It also makes trees more susceptible to pests and diseases. For a grower, an irrigation shortage can therefore mean both a less valuable crop and additional problems protecting the trees that produce it.

Pests Add to the Damage

The mango hopper, a small insect that sucks sap from trees, has become a concern across Pakistan. It attacks during flowering and the early stages of fruit development, precisely when damage can determine how much of the eventual crop survives.

Hopper infestations can reduce yields by up to 40%. The insects also leave sticky secretions that encourage sooty mold, adding another layer of harm to the fruit. Farmers managing weather and water problems must therefore protect the crop against an insect that can cause substantial losses on its own.

Mahmood Nawaz Shah, president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, says growers lack the public advice needed to respond effectively:

For the last few years, hopper attacks have become quite common. We don't get research-oriented and evidence-based advice from the agriculture department on how to deal with it.

Malformation disease, which causes flowers and shoots to grow abnormally, has also become more prevalent and is often linked to changing weather patterns. Anthracnose and powdery mildew are further threats. These fungal diseases thrive in the humid and fluctuating conditions that have become common in Sindh.

Farmers describe a shortage of coordinated government support. Many turn to private businesses for advice, although that guidance may not always serve growers' interests. Smaller farmers face particular difficulties because they often lack the money or knowledge to put effective pest management into practice.

A Harvest Built on Seasonal Skills

Sindh's annual mango harvest depends on considerable manual work. Laborers, many arriving from southern Punjab, migrate to the province each season to pick, sort and pack the fruit. Their skills help determine how much of the harvest reaches buyers in good condition.

The traditional method known as pattaee remains widespread. Workers climb trees and catch mangoes in bags to prevent bruising. Some progressive growers have introduced specialized tools to reduce damage and improve efficiency, combining newer equipment with the practical knowledge of seasonal workers.

After picking, mangoes are graded and packed, with the best fruit selected for export. Protecting quality through these stages matters because bruising or other damage can reduce the value of fruit that has already survived months of difficult growing conditions.

Export Standards Bring More Costs

Hot water treatment has become part of preparing mangoes for international sale. The process helps eliminate pests and extends shelf life. It was introduced to meet phytosanitary standards, the plant health requirements intended to limit the movement of pests through trade.

The treatment is mandatory for mangoes exported to the European Union and other markets that pay higher prices. It helps exporters meet buyers' requirements, but it also adds cost and complexity to moving fruit from an orchard to an overseas customer.

For growers and exporters, maintaining access to these markets requires more than producing a good mango. Fruit must be harvested carefully, sorted, packed and treated. Each stage relies on workers, facilities and spending at a time when lower output and rising operating costs are already putting businesses under strain.

Pakistan's Mango Trade Faces a Squeeze

Pakistan ranks fourth or fifth among the world's mango producers, with annual output of around 1.8 million tonnes. Punjab accounts for 70% of production, Sindh for 29% and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 1%. Sindh's difficulties therefore affect a province responsible for nearly three mangoes in every ten produced nationally.

Mango exports generate up to $100 million in foreign exchange each year. Major buyers include Iran, the Gulf, Central Asia and the United Kingdom, alongside other overseas markets. Foreign exchange is the money earned from sales abroad, making the fruit valuable to Pakistan beyond the income it provides to individual farms.

Exporters have lowered their ambitions as yields and quality have come under pressure. In 2023, the export target was reduced from 125,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes, a cut of 25,000 tonnes, or 20%. Actual shipments still fell short of the lower target.

Waheed Ahmed, patron-in-chief of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association, describes climate change as the industry's leading production threat:

The effects of climate change have emerged as the biggest threat to mango production, which can well be gauged from the fact that mango production has declined for the third year in a row.

Processing, packaging and warehousing businesses are also suffering. These activities add value to mangoes after harvest, but they face higher electricity, fuel and input costs while handling lower output. Pressure on orchards consequently reaches workers and businesses well beyond the farm.

What the Recent Figures Show

Sindh's shrinking orchard area, fluctuating provincial harvests and reduced national export target describe different parts of the crisis. The provincial production figures show an increase between 2019-20 and 2023-24, while growers' accounts describe damaging seasons, poorer quality and uncertainty about the next crop.

The main dates and figures trace how these pressures have developed:

• A decade before 2023-24: Sindh's mango cultivation covered 63,144 hectares.
• 2019-20: Sindh produced 329,300 tonnes of mangoes.
• 2023: Pakistan's mango export target was reduced from 125,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes, with actual shipments below the revised goal.
• 2023-24: Sindh's mango area stood at 58,900 hectares and production reached 387,200 tonnes.

Households and growers experience those pressures differently. Domestic consumers pay more when supplies tighten, while farmers can still struggle with reduced selling prices, lower yields and higher expenses. A higher retail price offers little comfort to a farmer whose crop has suffered extensive damage or whose production costs have risen.

Testing Varieties That Can Cope

Research institutes in Punjab and Sindh are working on mango varieties better suited to changing climatic conditions and on improved pest management. One proposed approach is the genome garden, an orchard in which different mango varieties can be tested for adaptability and resistance.

Dr. Abid Sulehri, head of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, explains the purpose of testing that diversity:

By planting various varieties, we can determine which ones are well-suited to Pakistan's soil and climate. If a particular variety proves favourable, we can use it as a basis to develop new varieties. This is the underlying motive behind introducing the concept of a genome garden.

Such projects require substantial investment. Testing varieties is a way to identify useful traits for future mango development, while farmers also need practical help managing the orchards already supporting their families.

Some progressive growers are adopting organic farming and regenerative agriculture to reduce dependence on chemicals and improve their ability to withstand climate shocks. Many smallholders, however, lack the financial resources or technical support to make those changes.

Growers Seek Research, Water and Practical Support

Farmers and industry representatives criticize the lack of effective government intervention. Their concerns center on inadequate research and extension services, the practical advice that helps farmers apply agricultural knowledge in their own orchards. Without that support, many growers are left to manage problems themselves or seek private guidance that may not be impartial.

Their calls for action cover the full journey from growing trees to selling fruit:

• More investment in agricultural research and development, particularly mango varieties suited to a changing climate.
• Training and practical support for pest management, irrigation and sustainable farming.
• Better water management and infrastructure to provide reliable irrigation.
• More hot water treatment capacity and other facilities needed for exports.
• Policy changes to support processing, packaging and warehousing businesses and reduce input costs.

No timetable is given for delivering these measures. For growers, the immediate need is dependable help with water, pests and costs, alongside research that can make future orchards better able to cope with difficult conditions.

Similar Losses Across South Asia

Sindh's experience is part of a wider struggle among mango growers across South Asia. Farmers from Gujarat in India to Pakistan's main mango growing areas are facing losses associated with unusual weather.

In India's Gujarat and Saurashtra regions, unseasonal storms and droughts have cut mango yields by up to 35%. Sindh has experienced losses of as much as 50% in some years. Across these growing regions, weather damage reduces the fruit available for local buyers and international trade.

Lower export volumes and higher prices carry the effects beyond the orchards where losses begin. Consumers abroad face changes in supply, while rural communities depend on a crop that supports farming, seasonal harvesting, transport, processing and packing.

Sindh's mango industry brings together several challenges facing agriculture under climate change: protecting harvests from weather extremes, supplying irrigation, controlling disease and keeping production financially viable. Research, practical adaptation and coordinated public support are central to the effort to protect both rural livelihoods and food security.

Key Points

• Sindh's mango area fell from 63,144 hectares a decade earlier to 58,900 hectares in 2023-24, a decline of about 6.7%.
• Provincial output rose from 329,300 tonnes in 2019-20 to 387,200 tonnes in 2023-24, despite damaging seasons and pressure on fruit quality.
• Heat, extended cool weather, storms, drought and water shortages disrupt flowering, fruit development and harvests.
• Mango hoppers can reduce yields by up to 40%, while fungal diseases and malformation add further losses.
• Pakistan's 2023 export target was cut from 125,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes, and shipments fell below the revised target.
• Growers seek reliable irrigation, better pest advice, investment in research and more facilities to meet export requirements.
• Research on mango varieties and changes in farming practices face limits because many smallholders lack money and technical support.