Pakistan: Guava exports reach Rs1 billion

Guava exports of Pakistan have reached Rs1 billion, which could further be increased if value addition through processing plants is undertaken, said an exporter on Friday. Pakistan’s guava production increased from 19,000 tons in 1958 to 552,000 tons in 2008 with an annual growth rate of 6.9 percent. The major destinations of Pakistani guava are UAE, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Canada, which is the largest importer of guava from Pakistan, accounting for 26 percent of the total guava exports of the country, said CEO Harvest Tradings Ahmad Jawad while talking to The News. Pakistan is the second largest guava producer after India. Guava is grown in all the provinces over an area of 58.5 thousand hectares with production of 468.3 thousand tons.

The major guava growing areas are Shariqpur, Kasur, Lahore, Sangla Hills, Gujranwala in Punjab; Kohat, Haripur and Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Larkana and Hyderabad in Sindh. District Sheikupura alone contributes 5,427 acres for the cultivation of guava. Guavas are grown almost entirely for fresh consumption, but international market for fresh guavas is small, so usually processed guava products are exported such as juices and nectars, jams and jellies, fruit paste, canned whole and halves in syrup. Traders said that there is a good potential for fresh guavas and that demand would grow as more consumers became familiar with this fruit. The CEO Harvest Tradings suggested further that the processing units should be well equipped with latest technologies and research must be enhanced to save the future of this important fruit.

Source: thenews.com.pk