Climate Change dents Multan' s mango-gifting tradition

MULTAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jul, 2026) Multan is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. It is known across the country for its Sufi shrines, and centuries-old buildings. But the city carries another name too, one that its people say with pride the "City of Gift-Givers." This name fits best in summer and winter seasons, when thousands of locals citizens send "Mangoes" and "Sohan Halwa" as gifts to their loved ones, friends and colleagues.

For the people of Multan, mango season is a celebration of giving. As the city's golden harvest ripens, carefully packed boxes begin their journey across cities and continents, carrying not just mangoes but love, memories and the warmth of home.

Whether thanking loyal customers or honoring a favorite teacher, a box of premium Multan mangoes makes every gesture thoughtful and memorable.

A government Officer sends mangoes to old friends he has not seen in months. Families use the mango season as a reason to stay close to each other, even when they live far apart. In Multan, a box of mangoes is never seen as just fruit.

It carries a message of love, respect and goodwill and receiving one is often taken as a sign that someone has not forgotten you, said Muhammad Yar, an employee in a private company.

This year, however, gifting has become more challenging due to lower production and declining

quality.

District Multan is home to over 15,000 mango growers and the fruit forms a major part of the local

economy every summer, feeding thousands of laborers, orchards, transport businesses and export deals. But this year, many growers are of the view, the mango season has let them down.

The harvest has been smaller than usual, the fruit has been smaller in size, and dark spots have appeared on the skin far more often than before.

It has directly hurt the old tradition of mango gifting, as no one wants to hand over a box of spotted or poor-quality mangoes to someone they respect.

Shahid Hameed Bhutta, a well-known grower from Muzaffargarh, told APP, this year, mango crop was weak, both in quantity and in quality.

He said the flowering in the orchards had actually been very good this season, but the trouble began when temperatures suddenly rose right at that stage, stopping much of the flower from turning into fruit. Soon after, a severe attack of the pest known locally as "taila" hit the orchards, one so intense that even six to seven rounds of pesticide spray could not bring it fully under control.

To make matters worse, the season also brought six to seven windstorms, which continued right up until the end of the mango season.

These winds knocked large amounts of fruit to the ground before it could ripen properly, further damaging the overall quality of what remained on the trees.

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He said sudden changes in weather during the flowering stage were the main reason behind the damage and that good-quality fruit was simply hard to find this

season.

He added that he does not expect country to meet its mango export target this year, and that he did not see the kind of export-quality packing in Multan and Muzaffargarh that he used to see in past

seasons.

Malik Laique Sheikhana, a grower in the Nawabpur area, shared a similar experience. He said his orchard used to produce close to 1,600 maunds of mangoes every year, a number that made him one of the more successful growers in his area.

This year, however, his orchard gave him only around 200 maunds. Even within that small harvest, mangoes of good gifting quality were difficult to find. Whatever boxes he did prepare as gifts, he said, were put together only after careful searching, mango by mango.

He admitted that he gifted far fewer boxes this year compared to previous seasons, saying he did not want to send a friend or relative a fruit with visible spots, fearing it might be seen as disrespectful or

careless.

Another grower from Chah Khan- Mahi, Malik Arif Kalro disclosed, the damage this year went beyond just poor weather.

He explained that contractors who bought his entire crop every year did not show up this season, discouraged by the low yield and weak quality of the fruit. Left with no buyer for his produce, he had to take his mangoes to the market and sell them himself, something he was not used to doing.

He blamed the same pest, "taila", for much of the damage, saying it left the mango skin marked and discolored even when the fruit was perfectly fine inside.

This made it harder to find clean, spot-free mangoes suitable for gifting. As a result, he too sent out far fewer gift boxes this year, worried that a poor-looking mango might upset his friends he was trying to

honor.

Despite the setbacks, all three growers agreed on one point: even in a difficult year, the old habit of gifting did not disappear completely.

Growers still searched for the best fruit they could find, sorting through smaller harvests to set aside whatever boxes were fit to give away. The tradition, though weakened this year, was not

abandoned.

In Multan, mango gifting remains a cherished seasonal tradition, deeply rooted in family customs and carried forward from one generation to the next. More than just a gesture of goodwill, these carefully selected mangoes symbolize respect, affection and the enduring bonds that connect families and

communities.

This year, the tradition survived, but with far less fruit to share and with far more care taken to choose every single mango that made it into a gift box.

APP/ATF