Mango exports may shrink up to 30pc as Middle East war impacts linger

Beneath the scorching sun in the Sindh mango belt, labourers balance on tree branches, working at a swift pace to throw the freshly picked fruit into sacks held ready by farmhands waiting below. Though mango season is well underway, far less of the fruit will be bound for the lucrative export market than usual, with an agriculturally dependent economy caught in the crosshairs of the Middle East crisis that the government has helped mediate. An initial deal between the warring sides announced by Islamabad this week has come too late for this mango season, which began in June in Sindh. Mango traders told AFP they expect export sales to fall at least 30 per cent this year due to dampened demand in key markets, including the Gulf, and soaring shipping costs. Adding to the financial pain, local households struggling with a spike in inflation emanating from the regional crisis are holding off on buying the fruit, depressing domestic sales. This photograph taken on June 4, 2026 shows mango farm owner Ali Palh showing harvested mangoes at an orchard in Tando Allahyar district, in Sindh. — AFP In the mango-growing heartland of Tando Allah Yar, Mohammad Shakeel manages orchards that grow the golden-yellow Sindhri variety, named after the province where it flourishes and famous for its rich flavour and juicy pulp. He feared his business would fall short of generating the income needed to cover the upfront cost of the orchard leases, noting some had abandoned their contracts entirely. “So many losses have been incurred, the contractors have even left their advance money,” Shakeel said. King of fruits Known in South Asia as the “king of fruits”, Pakistan grows over two dozen varieties of mango that normally earn around $110 million in international sales a year — making the country the world’s fourth-largest exporter. The challenges sparked by the Middle East war underscore the geopolitical vulnerability of the economy, heavily dependent on an agriculture sector already struggli