Pakistan is a known producer and exporter of kinnow mandarins around the world. A majority of the country’s production comes from the Sargodha region where the fruits are produced and processed.
There are around 200 processing units for kinnow mandarins in Pakistan, the majority of which are located in Sargodha. According to Muhammad Ahsan Afzal, Managing Director of Sargodha Mandarins, “Sargodha is a special place in Pakistan for kinnow mandarins. It is from here that we produce and export our products to the Gulf and Russia & Ukraine.”
Pakistan has reigned supreme in the industry for a long time, with little competition from other countries and strong government support. “Besides Morocco there are no big threats to Pakistan’s current position, although Egypt and Turkey are known to produce oranges, which are viewed as substitutes to kinnow mandarins. The government of Pakistan has been very supportive of the industry. It is working with foreign consultants to modernize farms by improving the supply chain of producing, processing and exporting,” says Afzal.
“The current season has affected our production and our demand. The weather in the gulf is a bit hotter than usual, which has caused the demand for our larger sized mandarins to grow. This has left us with a scenario where our production is unable to keep up with our demand. But we will be around at Christmas time this year. We are waiting for 100% of our fruits to ripen.”
Pakistani kinnow mandarins are on the verge of a breakthrough in the Far East. “Indonesia has recently opened up its market to our products. The Indonesian government has allowed the importation of Pakistani mandarins as of December 1, 2017.
The company is looking to grow its exports in different parts of the world, while it works closely with its government to improve its production.
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