KARACHI – Pakistan’s kinnow export is likely to slide by around 50,000 tonnes this year against targeted export of 0.260 million tonnes. Sources stated that this decline is triggered by unfavourable climate and less production in the country. Production of kinnow has fallen by a considerable 25 percent in the current season, standing at around 1.4 million tonnes against last season’s production of 1.8 million tonnes.
Talking to Pakistan Today, former All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable exporters, importers merchants Association (PFVA) Chairman Waheed Ahmed said that the country’s export, by the end of this season, was expected to reach 0.210 million tonnes against a target of 0.260 million, set by the government. The country has exported 0.190 million tonnes, while an additional 20,000 tones of kinnow are likely to be exported by the end of this month, taking the tally of total exports to 0.210 million tones this season, he said.
Citing reasons for a reduction in export, Waheed claimed that persistent rains in the last month have hampered the already sinking kinnow production. In addition, price of the fruit has increased by 100 percent this season as the current rate of kinnow stood at Rs 1100 per 40 kilogram against Rs 600 per 40 kg last year. Production could not boost regardless of the massive demand for Pakistani products in the international market, while curbed production of the fruit has deprived the exchequer of $35 million, he maintained.
Major importers of the country’s products including Russia, Iran and Dubai have imported almost 35 percent, 25 percent and 20 percent of the total export of kinnow respectively. He added that, other importers of the same products, included Saudi Arabia and other gulf states, Britain, Holland, Canada, Hong Kong, Philippine, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Sudan. Waheed said that Iran, one of Pakistan’s main importers of kinnow, had lifted the 45 percent import duty since February 4 this year, boosting the country’s export.
Besides below par production of kinnow, he said that apathetic behavior of concerned authorities like Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) had hurt exports. PHDEC, he claimed, had not called a single meeting in the last year to help exporters/growers improve export of the country’s fruit and vegetables.
Waheed said that the unreleased Export Development Fund (EDF), by the ministry of Finance, had also squeezed exports as an absence of research institutes and laboratories existed, causing wastage of large quantities of fruits and vegetables.
Countries including Iran have already expressed serious reservations over the lack of quarantine plants refrigerated containers, as a number of truck and containers carrying mango and kinnow from Pakistan were not bearing phytosanitary certificates, issued by the concerned departments.
According to the PFVA official, private sectors were keen to make cold storages and packing houses in the country. However, demands stayed unfulfilled as they were looking for interest free loans from local banks. In order to capture a new market, Pakistan has also asked Japan to facilitate the Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) plant, a phyto-sanitary requirement of mango, at Tokyo’s port, as Islamabad lacks the facility to start mango export in the next season. Without the VHT facility, Pakistan, while ensuring the quarantine requirements for packing place in order to prevent invasion by the group of oriental fruit fly species, would not be able to export mango to Japan.
