The opportunity
A line that blanches, freezes and cold-stores mango chunks at −18 to −25°C so each piece stays separate and retains colour, texture and nutrients. IQF fetches roughly $1,450–2,000/tonne CIF Europe — meaningfully above aseptic pulp — but refrigeration is the dominant energy load and the dominant risk in a country with grid-reliability challenges. Best built once cold-chain resilience and offtake are established.
Revenue lines
- ▸ IQF mango chunks & dices
- ▸ Buyers: smoothie & beverage brands, dairy, bakery, retail frozen aisle
- ▸ Conventional and (premium) organic grades
Why now
- ● Frozen tropical fruit demand is growing steadily, and Europe is under-supplied by Pakistan specifically — a genuine gap.
- ● IQF preserves the harvest for year-round sale, like pulp, but at a higher price point.
- ● Premium, health-positioned end-uses (smoothies, clean-label snacking) are exactly where growth is.
Indicative economics
All figures are indicative planning ranges — confirmed jointly during due diligence, not a guaranteed return.
Capital requirement
Indicative ~$0.9–1.8M complete small line
An IQF freezer alone is roughly $150–250k; a complete small line (prep, blancher, spiral/tunnel freezer and cold store) is around $0.9–1.8M with land already owned. Cold storage in Pakistan runs ~PKR 35,000–55,000 per m³. Planning-grade estimates — confirm with vendor quotes.
How it earns
- ▸ IQF sells at roughly $1,450–2,000/tonne CIF Europe, above aseptic pulp's ~$900–1,300.
- ▸ Organic and premium retail grades sit at the top of that band.
- ▸ Higher price partly offsets higher energy, cold-chain and refrigerated-freight cost.
Margin logic
The price premium over pulp is real, but so is the added energy and cold-chain cost. Net margin depends heavily on reliable, affordable refrigeration — which is exactly why we'd phase it in rather than lead with it.
Payback thinking
Longer and more sensitive than dried or aseptic because of energy and cold-chain intensity. We'd only build IQF once the core plant is generating cash and buyer relationships exist.
Plant & machinery
Washing, peeling & dicing line
Prepares uniform chunks/dices for freezing.
Blancher + dewatering
Stabilises colour and texture before freezing.
Spiral / tunnel IQF freezer (−35 to −40°C)
Freezes each piece individually so they don't clump — the defining IQF step.
Cold store (−18 to −25°C)
Holds finished product; refrigeration reliability is the make-or-break factor.
Standby generation / self-power
Effectively mandatory — a refrigeration failure means total loss of frozen inventory.
How it works, end to end
- 1Wash, peel and dice fruit into uniform chunks.
- 2Blanch and dewater to protect colour and texture.
- 3Individually quick-freeze at −35 to −40°C so each piece stays separate.
- 4Pack in food-grade poly and cartons.
- 5Hold and ship at −18°C under an unbroken cold chain to frozen-fruit buyers.
Why partner with MMA Farms
- ✦ Same captive, low-cost fruit and premium Multan varieties as our other lines.
- ✦ Europe is specifically under-supplied by Pakistan — a positioning gap we can target.
- ✦ Built as Phase 2 on proven infrastructure, it inherits established buyers and sourcing.
- ✦ Land and core utilities already in place from the anchor plant.
Risks & how we manage them
We'd rather be straight about the risks now than surprise you later. Here's our honest view.
⚠ Cold-chain & power reliability (highest risk here)
How we manage it: Standby self-generation is designed in from the start; we phase IQF in only after power resilience is proven on the core plant.
⚠ Capital & energy intensity
How we manage it: Kept as a later phase funded partly from the anchor plant's cash flow, not a day-one commitment.
⚠ Refrigerated freight cost & compliance
How we manage it: Target buyers and lanes where the price premium covers cold-chain logistics; secure offtake before scaling.
Investor questions
Why not build IQF first if it sells for more?+
Because refrigeration is the dominant cost and risk, and a single cold-chain or power failure can wipe out an entire frozen inventory. In a country with grid-reliability challenges, the honest sequence is to prove the lower-risk dried or aseptic line first, build power resilience, then add IQF on top.
Is there really a market gap?+
European tropical-frozen-fruit imports are led by Peru, Vietnam and India — Pakistan is a marginal supplier despite being a top-5 mango producer. That under-representation is both the gap and a signal of entrenched competition, which is why offtake and quality certification matter.
What returns are guaranteed?+
None. IQF economics are especially sensitive to energy cost, so any figure here is indicative only. We'd model it transparently with real quotes and buyer interest before committing.