TANDO ALLAHYAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Beneath the scorching sun in Pakistan’s southern 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 Pakistan’s agriculturally dependent economy caught in the crosshairs of the Middle East crisis that its government has helped mediate.

An initial deal between the warring sides announced by Pakistan this week has come too late for this mango season, which began in June in southern Sindh province.