SMEDA chief urges fresh thinking

MULTAN – Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Chief Executive Yousuf Naseem Khokhar has suggested the formation of a working group comprising representatives of the federal government, Punjab and farmer associations to generate fresh thinking and to ensure the profitable utilisation of Agro Food Processing (AFP) facilities in Multan.
Addressing a seminar at AFP, which includes a mango pulp plant, the SMEDA chief said that governments are not supposed to run business institutions. He stressed that production of value added food items at the plant would fetch good returns and improve the income potential of local farmers.
Punjab Secretary Agriculture Captain (r) Arif Nadeem pointed out that a lucrative segment of the world market could be opened to Pakistan if the private sector developed a capacity to meet international standards in processes from production to harvesting, grading, packaging and shipment of value added food products.
He emphasised that customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, France and other EU countries had a marked proclivity for the exotic Pakistani mango. However to exploit this demand Pakistan had to meet internationally recognised and stringent quality standards and strict adherence to health related guidelines, he added.
It was also noted that the government was committed to assisting the private sector in acquiring the appropriate skill set and was providing both expertise and equipment. He said that the hot water treatment facility was available at 12 points in Punjab for mango in addition to the cold blast facility.
Nadeem said that investment running into billions was being committed to India and China in fruit and food processing. He said that Pakistan was blessed with all kinds of natural bounties and must opt for food grading and treatment to earn foreign exchange. He also claimed that internationally recognised super stores and food chain systems wanted to collaborate with Pakistani agriculture producers to buy mango and citrus. “We seek direct interaction between them and farmers so that they can understand issues and move towards a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Mango farmers raised different issues on the occasion.
Khokhar said that disagreement or a difference of opinion reflected well as it highlighted issues and was essential to maintaining a mechanism to generate solutions. It is pertinent to mention that Farmers said that hot water treatment and polishing facility was available at the facility had not yielded results in accordance with their expectation. They suggested that mango pulp plant’s technical audit be conducted by an internationally recognised firm.