The export season for Pakistani Kinnows is about to commence. So far the season is on track. There is less production, but due to improved weather conditions the quality is better than last year. The winter monsoon season still has to take place, though. There is a risk of flooding or hailstorm.
For the third time, Abdul Malik has been re-elected as the chairman of the Pakistani association for fruit and vegetable growers and exporters, the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and merchant Association (PFVA). The elections were held last month. According to Malik, re-elections are quite common. While it is possible for other nominees to apply for this position, Malik was appointed by the 16 members of the board, unanimously. Currently, the PVFA has 170 members. The number of companies that apply for membership is still increasing every year.
The export season will start on the 25th of November, which is a week earlier than usual. This earlier start allows for more export possibilities to distant markets like Canada, Russia and the Philippines. “One week early will make a big difference for logistics arrangement and fruit will arrive right in time for holidays in these markets. We can also start earlier due to the weather, which allowed for better coloration,” explains Mr Malik.
Usually the season lasts until April, but now it’s too early to predict. There are several factors that influence the length of the season, like weather conditions, the demand of markets in neighboring countries like China, Afghanistan and CIS countries which have also demand on their local holidays like Chinese New Year and Persian New Year. If the weather remains favorable, Malik expects the season to last until April. He estimates the volumes of kinnows for this season at around 1,1 to 1,4 million tons.
Last year the Pakistani kinnow season was boosted by the Russian market. This year however, Russia has lifted its trade ban on Turkish products. However, Malik isn’t worried. “The only advantage that Turkey has is it’s larger volumes. Their season starts early. By the time we start with our exports, the Turkish volumes will have diminished. Also, we produce different varieties. While Turkish growers produce tangerines, we produce kinnow mandarins. We’ll probably catch up in December.”
There is also some competition from Moroccan produce. Like Turkey, the Moroccan varieties are different from those in Pakistan. The Moroccan sector also uses different transit channels. While Turkey makes use of routes across the Black Sea, Morocco usually uses Western ports.
According to Malik, markets in South-East-Asia are increasing in importance, especially with regards to the Philippines. “Consumers in the Philippines favour our citrus due to our competitive prices. Our sizes and color are also very much appreciated over there especially for gift packs, but there is some competition from China. Sometimes China has a bumper crop, even though the quality isn’t that good this year, the Chinese tend to focus on markets in Malaysia and Hong Kong.”
At the same time, the markets of countries at the borders of Pakistan are of importance as well. Trade with Iran has been slow due to sanctions that were put in place by the Iranian government. These were put in place due to the weak Iranian currency. The closing down of all trade in 2014 caused a loss in export of 40.000 tons. But trade has always remained possible on a smaller scale at the borders. Another problem with the situation in 2014 was the harvest of Pakistan itself. Due to disastrous weather conditions at the end of March 2014, a lot of volume turned out to be unfit for export, if not completely destroyed by the weather.
“We used to ship close to 20% of our citrus production just for Iranian market. Last season we exported lots of mangoes to Iran. The Iranian government has promised to allow for more trade. If Iran keeps its promise to issue import permits in time for Persian New Year, we´ll have some great opportunities to send Pakistani kinnows their way. We will have to wait and see,” says Malik.
Other neighboring countries that are important for the export of fruit and vegetables from Pakistan beside Iran are China and Afghanistan. As soon as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is completed, more trade with China will be possible. Meanwhile, Afghanistan and Iran act like a logistical node, through which trade with countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iraq and Azerbaijan is made possible.
Pakistan also has a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia. However, the amount of export to Indonesia tends to fluctuate. “There are two kinds of Indonesian governmental departments that factor into this. On the one hand you have the department for trade and customs, which made the PTA possible. On the other hand you have the department for agriculture, which determines how many products actually are going to be imported, based on yearly quotas. For instance, last year Pakistani mandarins were allowed from December to April. This year however, we can only export to Indonesia in January and February. The quotas are meant to protect local Indonesian farmers, even though their quality isn’t as good as ours.”
Trade with Western Europe has become less relevant for Pakistani mandarins. “We’re not exporting to Europe. Our biggest market used to be Russia and in the past we’ve shipped to the Netherlands and the UK. Because we don’t work with Europe, we also don’t have any competition from Spain. Russia preferred our kinnows because Spanish citrus was more expensive for them.”
As for the future, the PVFA would like to seek out new markets. “I always advise growers not to focus all trade on one market. When one market becomes saturated, look for other markets and don’t get involved in potential disasters. For instance, we visited South Africa last year, where we learned a lot. The South African sector manages its markets really well. They even imposed a ban upon themselves due to black spot disease. We would like to follow their example. For this purpose, we’re organizing seminars for Pakistani growers and exporters. The PFVA holds the next seminar early in November in Sagodha Punjab, the main citrus growing area, where we hope to teach our members about brand promotion,” concludes chairman Malik.
For more information:
Abdul Malik
Union Fruit
Tel: +92 21 35891509; 35891067
Fax: +92 21 35206886
Mobile +92 333 2141796
E-mail: unionfruit@gmail.com ; unionfruit@unionfruit.com
www.unionfruit.com
For the third time, Abdul Malik has been re-elected as the chairman of the Pakistani association for fruit and vegetable growers and exporters, the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and merchant Association (PFVA). The elections were held last month. According to Malik, re-elections are quite common. While it is possible for other nominees to apply for this position, Malik was appointed by the 16 members of the board, unanimously. Currently, the PVFA has 170 members. The number of companies that apply for membership is still increasing every year.
The export season will start on the 25th of November, which is a week earlier than usual. This earlier start allows for more export possibilities to distant markets like Canada, Russia and the Philippines. “One week early will make a big difference for logistics arrangement and fruit will arrive right in time for holidays in these markets. We can also start earlier due to the weather, which allowed for better coloration,” explains Mr Malik.
Usually the season lasts until April, but now it’s too early to predict. There are several factors that influence the length of the season, like weather conditions, the demand of markets in neighboring countries like China, Afghanistan and CIS countries which have also demand on their local holidays like Chinese New Year and Persian New Year. If the weather remains favorable, Malik expects the season to last until April. He estimates the volumes of kinnows for this season at around 1,1 to 1,4 million tons.
Last year the Pakistani kinnow season was boosted by the Russian market. This year however, Russia has lifted its trade ban on Turkish products. However, Malik isn’t worried. “The only advantage that Turkey has is it’s larger volumes. Their season starts early. By the time we start with our exports, the Turkish volumes will have diminished. Also, we produce different varieties. While Turkish growers produce tangerines, we produce kinnow mandarins. We’ll probably catch up in December.”
There is also some competition from Moroccan produce. Like Turkey, the Moroccan varieties are different from those in Pakistan. The Moroccan sector also uses different transit channels. While Turkey makes use of routes across the Black Sea, Morocco usually uses Western ports.
According to Malik, markets in South-East-Asia are increasing in importance, especially with regards to the Philippines. “Consumers in the Philippines favour our citrus due to our competitive prices. Our sizes and color are also very much appreciated over there especially for gift packs, but there is some competition from China. Sometimes China has a bumper crop, even though the quality isn’t that good this year, the Chinese tend to focus on markets in Malaysia and Hong Kong.”
At the same time, the markets of countries at the borders of Pakistan are of importance as well. Trade with Iran has been slow due to sanctions that were put in place by the Iranian government. These were put in place due to the weak Iranian currency. The closing down of all trade in 2014 caused a loss in export of 40.000 tons. But trade has always remained possible on a smaller scale at the borders. Another problem with the situation in 2014 was the harvest of Pakistan itself. Due to disastrous weather conditions at the end of March 2014, a lot of volume turned out to be unfit for export, if not completely destroyed by the weather.
“We used to ship close to 20% of our citrus production just for Iranian market. Last season we exported lots of mangoes to Iran. The Iranian government has promised to allow for more trade. If Iran keeps its promise to issue import permits in time for Persian New Year, we´ll have some great opportunities to send Pakistani kinnows their way. We will have to wait and see,” says Malik.
Other neighboring countries that are important for the export of fruit and vegetables from Pakistan beside Iran are China and Afghanistan. As soon as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is completed, more trade with China will be possible. Meanwhile, Afghanistan and Iran act like a logistical node, through which trade with countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iraq and Azerbaijan is made possible.
Pakistan also has a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia. However, the amount of export to Indonesia tends to fluctuate. “There are two kinds of Indonesian governmental departments that factor into this. On the one hand you have the department for trade and customs, which made the PTA possible. On the other hand you have the department for agriculture, which determines how many products actually are going to be imported, based on yearly quotas. For instance, last year Pakistani mandarins were allowed from December to April. This year however, we can only export to Indonesia in January and February. The quotas are meant to protect local Indonesian farmers, even though their quality isn’t as good as ours.”Trade with Western Europe has become less relevant for Pakistani mandarins. “We’re not exporting to Europe. Our biggest market used to be Russia and in the past we’ve shipped to the Netherlands and the UK. Because we don’t work with Europe, we also don’t have any competition from Spain. Russia preferred our kinnows because Spanish citrus was more expensive for them.”
As for the future, the PVFA would like to seek out new markets. “I always advise growers not to focus all trade on one market. When one market becomes saturated, look for other markets and don’t get involved in potential disasters. For instance, we visited South Africa last year, where we learned a lot. The South African sector manages its markets really well. They even imposed a ban upon themselves due to black spot disease. We would like to follow their example. For this purpose, we’re organizing seminars for Pakistani growers and exporters. The PFVA holds the next seminar early in November in Sagodha Punjab, the main citrus growing area, where we hope to teach our members about brand promotion,” concludes chairman Malik.
For more information:
Abdul Malik
Union Fruit
Tel: +92 21 35891509; 35891067
Fax: +92 21 35206886
Mobile +92 333 2141796
E-mail: unionfruit@gmail.com ; unionfruit@unionfruit.com
www.unionfruit.com