Horticulture products: efforts on to enhance export beyond $200 million annually

Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) is seriously engaged in efforts to enhance the export of horticulture products beyond $200 million annually. Horticulture contributes about 12 % to the national agricultural GDP.
A source in the PHDEB told Business Recorder that though the annual production of fruits and vegetables is estimated at 14.5 million tons value around $2 billion, only over half a million ton of this production, about $200 million is exported.
A substantial portion of the produce ranging between 20% and 40%, which in financial terms comes to about $0.6 billion per annum, is wasted in the absence of an efficient cool chain system and pack-house facilities. These are considered to be the major factors responsible for low exports and high wastage.
To overcome these deficiencies, the source said the government has embarked upon an ambitious programme for the development of infrastructure projects in the country. In this connection he cited the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March between the Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) and PHDEB to work in collaboration towards structuring and implementing of the proposed project.