By Rafiq Vayani
SHARJAH: The fifth edition of Khorfakkan Mango Festival concluded on Sunday at Expo Khorfakkan, following a three-day celebration of one of the UAE’s most valued seasonal fruits.
Organised by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) in cooperation with the Municipal Council of Khorfakkan, Khorfakkan City Municipality and Expo Khorfakkan, the festival ran from 26 to 28 June under the theme “Mango: Our Fruit, Our Wealth”.
This year’s edition achieved outstanding success, attracting more than 40,000 visitors from within the UAE and abroad. It brought together 55 farmers, leading agriculture and fertilisation companies, and productive families from across the UAE.
Delegations from Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, as well as participants from Uganda, also took part, generating strong commercial activity. To accommodate increased participation, the festival expanded its exhibition infrastructure by 70 percent, providing additional display space for visitors.
High Participation and Strong Competition
The festival featured five main competitions, with cash prizes awarded to winners across all categories to encourage excellence in local agricultural production. The competition programme recorded strong participation, creating a dynamic and highly competitive environment as farmers showcased premium-quality mango varieties.
The programme included: Mango Mazayna (Most Beautiful Mango) Competition; the Largest Mango Competition; the Best Mango Basket Competition for families; Mango Beauty Competition for children; and the newly introduced Best Innovative Idea or Mango-Based Project Competition. Launched for the first time in this year’s edition, the new category is designed to foster agricultural entrepreneurship by encouraging innovators to develop value-added food products and innovative processing industries based on locally grown mangoes.
Commitment to Supporting the Festival
Khalil Al-Mansouri, General Coordinator of Khorfakkan Mango Festival and Director of Government Relations at SCCI, reaffirmed the Sharjah Chamber’s commitment to strengthening the festival’s role as a strategic platform for expanding market access for Emirati farmers and connecting locally produced crops with wider commercial opportunities across domestic and international markets.
“The Chamber aims to convert the festival’s seasonal success into sustainable year-round growth for producers. The festival’s true economic value lies in its long-term contribution to agricultural development by stimulating innovation, improving product quality, and creating direct links between farmers and consumers. This encourages producers to expand their operations and invest further in enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of their farms,” Al-Mansouri added.
A Catalyst for Trade and Tourism
Meanwhile, Mohammed Al Darmaki, Director of the Khorfakkan branch of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the festival has become a key driver of commercial and tourism activity in Khorfakkan and the Eastern Region, successfully attracting thousands of visitors from across the UAE.
He noted that Khorfakkan’s strong agricultural capabilities, combined with its distinctive coastal and mountainous landscape, have significantly enhanced the Khorfakkan Mango Festival’s appeal.
Al Darmaki added that the festival demonstrates the successful integration of the agriculture, tourism, and trade sectors, reflecting the Sharjah Chamber’s commitment to supporting comprehensive development across the Eastern Region.
He emphasised that the festival’s ongoing expansion is reinforcing Khorfakkan’s position as a leading agricultural and tourism destination, while creating new investment opportunities across related industries, in line with Sharjah’s vision to diversify its economic base and promote balanced development across the emirate.
Diversified Products
The fifth Khorfakkan Mango Festival showcased more than 150 varieties of premium locally grown mangoes, in addition to citrus fruits, bananas, and seasonal produce sourced from farms across the Eastern Region and other areas of the UAE.
The exhibition also featured a wide range of agricultural products and innovative mango-based processed goods, reflecting the advanced capabilities of Emirati farmers and their commitment to adopting sustainable agricultural solutions to enhance productivity, product quality, and market competitiveness
Productive families enriched the festival with distinctive displays and innovative food processing products, including the launch of the UAE’s first mango-and-honey product, alongside mango biscuits, mango juices, homemade pickles, and entrepreneurial ventures showcasing perfumes and handcrafted products inspired by the aromas of mangoes and citrus fruits.
These innovations reinforced the festival’s role as an incubator for entrepreneurship and innovation, demonstrating how locally inspired ideas can be transformed into commercially viable ventures that generate added value for the food processing industry.
Regional and International Recognition, Promising Opportunities
Participants from the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Uganda praised the fifth Khorfakkan Mango Festival’s outstanding organisation and the exceptional opportunities it provided for knowledge exchange among mango growers and producers.
They said the festival served as an ideal platform for sharing expertise on cultivating mango trees in different environments, enhancing production efficiency, and expanding the use of mangoes in value-added food industries.
Participants also expressed their interest in increasing their participation in future editions and establishing strategic partnerships that strengthen agricultural business ties between their respective markets and the Emirate of Sharjah.
Heritage Displays and Cultural Performances
Supported by Al Sharqiya Kalba TV as the official media partner, the fifth Khorfakkan Mango Festival, featured a rich programme combining cultural engagement with agricultural knowledge-sharing.
Traditional Emirati folk groups staged live performances, celebrating the UAE’s cultural heritage. Agricultural specialists, in partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Sharjah Department of Agriculture and Livestock, conducted specialised workshops on modern and smart farming practices, including mango tree cultivation, irrigation, fertilisation, pruning, and integrated pest management.
The fifth Khorfakkan Mango Festival concluded its fifth edition by honouring the winners of its competitions, recognising the top-ranking farmers alongside participants from the Gulf region and Africa.
Strategic partners and sponsors were also honoured in recognition of their continued contribution to the festival’s success. The recognition reflected the strong institutional and community collaboration that has underpinned the festival’s success and reinforced its position as a leading platform for promoting agricultural excellence.
The festival enabled visitors to purchase premium mangoes, high-quality mango seedlings, and other agricultural plants directly from producers at competitive prices.
It also provided free exhibition spaces for Emirati farmers from across the UAE, allowing them to market their produce directly to consumers, while opening the door to home-based agricultural initiatives to showcase locally grown products.
This enhanced the diversity of exhibits and enriched the visitor experience. Daily prize draws added to the festive atmosphere, while dedicated family zones and interactive educational areas for children helped foster greater interest in agriculture among younger generations.
