Export fruits, vegetables: government urged to create forward, backward linkages

Speakers at a seminar on "controlled and modified atmosphere storage technology for fruits and vegetables" urged the government to create forward and backward linkages as the country could earn billions of US dollars annually by exporting fresh fruits and vegetables through controlled and modified atmosphere technology meant for slowing down the respiratory system of the fruits.
The technology enables the local traders to enhance profitability and send the produce through sea which costs seven times less than the air fright. The seminar arranged by Post-harvest laboratory of Institute of Horticultural Sciences in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture Research Board at New Senate Hall of the University on Thursday morning.
The speakers including Professor Dr Aslam Pervaiz, Dr Aman Ullah Malik, Professor Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad, Dr Simon Schouten, Dr Abdul Rehman, Omer Hafeez and Dr Ahmad Sattar Khan were of the view that only thing the country needed was an urgent attention of the government policy makers to establish storage facilities of CA technology at Balochistan, Southern Punjab and other areas where fresh fruits were been produced abundantly.
Addressing the seminar as chief guest, Professor Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad Dean Faculty of Agri Engineering & Technology said that his faculty was offering Food Engineering degree course for the next academic session which would certainly pave the way for grabbing export potentials of fruits and vegetable and bring down the post harvest losses.
He emphasised the need for government patronage to establish a large number of CA storage rooms and facilities in different areas of the country. Dr Aslam Pervaiz said that at present out of 15 billion ton fruits and vegetables, the country was exporting only four percent whereas 65 to 70 percent was being used locally. He urged the government to heavily invest on the sector to promote the exports of fresh fruits and vegetable as the whole world was found of Pakistani mango, orange, apples and other fruits due to unique taste and fragrance of the produces.