Pakistani exporters must focus on unexplored Russian fruit market: Jawad

Chief Executive Officer Harvest Tradings, Ahmad Jawad has said that Russia can be the biggest fruit market for Pakistani exporters.
Speaking in a seminar here, Jawad noted that the size of Russian fruit market is around $5.77 billion of which imports account for 80 percent. However, this huge market has remained unexplored although there is a big potential for the export of Pakistan’s horticulture products, especially for fruits.
Unfortunately Pakistani exporters of horticulture products are finding it difficult to penetrate into the Russian market due to unavailability of banking channels, Jawad observed.
As Russian banks are keen to develop banking relations with their counterparts in Pakistan, some issues related to regulations by the two central banks were causing delay, he added.
He said Pakistan and Russia might jointly look into the possibilities of organizing trade delegations and exhibitions in each other’s countries every year, being the most effective tool of marketing strategy. In this connection, he suggested establishment of Pak-Russia Horticulture Business Forum on immediate basis, keeping in view the growing interest of Russia in Pakistani agriculture products.
It is time to pay attention towards encouraging exports of fresh produce industry of Pakistan, particularly in agriculture products.
Jawad emphasised that the government should draw a workable strategy to lift the export of fresh produce industry.
Our focus should be on Russian and CIS (Common wealth of independent states) markets with regard to fruits and vegetables which are ready to absorb as much as we could export,” he said.