Pakistan: Kinnow misses export target
The losses came as a result of difficulties with the Iranian market due to US imposed trade sanctions and a failure to take advantage of new market opportunities in Indonesia - which is often blamed on the authorities.
Waheed Ahmed Co-Chairman Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) said that fruits sent by unregistered and new companies to Moscow were sold at $ 4 to $ 5 per 10 kilogram against the market price of $6.5 per 10 kg Kinnow due to the huge stock at the Russian ports.
This has lead to registered exported making a loss, collectively, of $20 million in Russia. He said that the country has so far exported 8800 containers of Kinnow via sea routes and soled them at the average price of $ 6 per 10 kg. Last year the same was sold at the price of $6.5 per 10 kg while the country had exported at least 0.214 million tonnes during the last season where the production was estimated 1.7 million tonnes against the target of 0.260 million tonnes.
However in terms of quantity, the country has exported at least 1400 tonnes of additional kinnow this year, he said.
Waheed, like many, said the authorities needed to do more to encourage export trade. He said that the lack of search facility and maintenance of quality and standards of the fruits could cause further lasses to the country’s growers, traders and exporters.
"The country needs to develop various varieties of Kinnow and Islamabad would have easily achieved the target if it had introduced varieties in the international markets," he said.
Source: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
