Pakistan’s kinnow industry is on the verge of collapse, with a projected 50% decline in exports and the closure of 50% of processing plants. Exporters have pointed to issues such as a shorter shelf life for kinnow, lack of resistance to diseases, low-quality yield, seeds in the fruit, dull shell colour, bumper citrus crops in regional countries, hefty export taxes to Afghanistan, delayed import quotas from Indonesia’s government, and other challenges.
Waheed Ahmed, Patron–in–Chief of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA), expressed concern about the falling export of kinnow and urges the government to declare an agricultural emergency, develop new varieties promptly and leverage the experiences of foreign countries to introduce disease-free varieties capable of coping with climate change effects.
Exports of kinnow, worth $220 million, are at risk as the current variety of the fruit, introduced 60 years ago, has lost its natural resistance to diseases and climate change, leading to lower yields and quality, the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association said.
Source: tribune.com.pk