Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman is moving to strengthen investment in the mango crop and enhance its productive and competitive capacity. This forms part of a broader drive to increase domestic agricultural output and capitalize on the production gap by creating investment opportunities of economic value. The aim is to boost productivity, raise self-sufficiency rates, and grow the economic value of Omani agricultural products.
According to Oman News Agency, statistical data point to promising investment opportunities. The Sultanate of Oman imports around 46,211 tons of mangoes, valued at approximately RO 18.7 million. This reflects the scale of domestic demand for the crop and opens the way to redirect part of that value towards domestic production and investment. It also supports the development of the mango value chain.
Dr. Hamdan bin Salim Al Wahaibi, Director General of Agricultural Development at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, stated that the volume of mango imports is an important economic indicator of a promising domestic market. The private sector and investors can capitalize on this market. He noted that the approach for the coming phase rests on a shift in perspective: mangoes should no longer be viewed merely as an agricultural crop, but rather as an integrated economic value chain. This chain extends from seedling production and cultivation through to packaging, marketing, and food processing, helping to substitute part of imports and enhance the product's local value.
In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), he explained that the Sultanate of Oman has a solid production base to build upon. The area currently farmed with mangoes stands at about 3,907 feddans, while production exceeded 17,123 tons in 2025. He affirmed that raising production in the coming phase will not rely solely on horizontal expansion of agricultural areas. It will also depend on increasing productivity per unit area, improving fruit quality, enhancing water use efficiency, and selecting economically viable varieties, alongside expanding the use of modern irrigation and farm management technologies.
He indicated that the Agricultural Research Station in Sohar plays a pivotal role in providing the scientific foundation for expanding mango production. Its work includes a variety of studies, characterization assessment, and seedling production, as well as transferring research and trial results to farms and investment projects. He noted that the mango genetic bank comprises 252 varieties and 708 trees, collected from various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman and from 23 countries. This provides an important genetic base for selecting the varieties best suited to local conditions and strongest in terms of productivity and marketability.
He added that research studies and trials have led to the selection of more than 30 promising varieties in terms of productivity and quality. This enhances prospects for well-considered expansion into varieties capable of better economic returns and responsive to market requirements in quality, quantity, and production seasons.