Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) has said that several issues are major barriers in enhancement of exports of fruit and vegetables and these matters are urgently needs government's attention to anticipate substantial export volume to generate huge foreign exchange.
Waheed Ahmed Patron-in-chief PFVA, in a letter sent to Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir, has raised several issues relating to fruit and vegetable exports and said that tussle between two institutions is hurting the exports of fruit and vegetable as presently hundreds of containers of Kinnow and potato are waiting for sailing at Karachi Port Trust.
"The "Go Slow Operation" which is going on at the sea ports since December 26, 2016 due to some dispute between Karachi Dock Labour Board (KDBL) and Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is adversely affecting the entire port vessel operation at East and West wharf thus casting bad shadow on export of Kinnow and potato", he mentioned in the letter. He said that kinnow and potato generate huge foreign exchange for the country and it's too alarming that this undesirable situation is happening during the peak season of kinnow and thus an immediate action is urgently required to settle this issue so that export targets of Kinnow and Potato can be achieved.
Similarly, he has mentioned in the letter that Iranian market can accommodate 40,000 tons of Pakistani Kinnow but due to non-issuance of import permits by Iran this huge quantity cannot be exported to Iran. "The irony is that Iranian fruits are being imported by Pakistan without any Quarantine requirements imposed by the DPP, a usual practice to be followed by all countries exporting fruits and vegetables to Pakistan", he added.
Presently, plenty of Iranian apples are being sold by the retailers, since they get wider margin profit by selling Iranian apples and hence Kinnow which should have been with retailers is finding no place now. Thus kinnow is also suffering even in domestic market as well, he said.
"It's strongly recommended to implement quarantine requirements for import of fruits and vegetables from Iran and Iranian government shall be approached for issuance of import permit to Pakistani importers so that balance in trade can be maintained in wider interest of our country", Waheed added.
Highlighting the issues with Indonesia, he has informed that getting lab test certificate from the PCSIR (approved lab) is a pre-requisite to export Kinnow to Indonesia. "There are two main issues our exporters are encountering in this context, that one lab test certificate costs around Rs 45,000 for particular Indonesian buyer which is an expensive affair, further adding an extra cost to the export consignment" he mentioned. In this regard it is suggested that the approved lab be approached for revision of cost downwards so that exporters can compete in Indonesian market with other countries.
He said that currently an exporter has to obtain number of lab test certificates for different Indonesian importers thus making it an expensive affair for an exporter. Therefore it's suggested that one lab certificate shall be made valid for different consignees for one particular exporter sending these export consignment.
Waheed said that China is our competitor as far as Kinnow is concerned and it has an upper edge due to numerous varieties of Mandarin including seedless Kinnow, which is in great demand in the International markets. China exports these varieties during the month of November to May.
To compete with China, it's imperative that the government of Pakistan must focus for establishment of Research and Development labs so as to explore new varieties like China and efforts be also made if such varieties can be made available during the months of November to June, he proposed. "We sincerely hope that the issues highlighted above would be addressed immediately so that exports of fruit & vegetables can be multiplied", the letter concluded.