KARACHI: In a bid to improve the export of vegetables by reducing costs, Pakistan has shipped its first consignment of selected vegetables on an incremental basis to Dubai via sea freight. The first ever consignment of nine selected vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, okra, long melon etc) has been shipped to Dubai on Monday under the Agricultural Market Development (AMD) project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). According to Waheed Ahmed, Patron in Chief of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) the freight service via sea will not only drastically reduce the cost of the project but also enable exporters to tap into more markets in the Emirates and Gulf states. According to Ahmed, a vegetable being shipped by air at the cost of 80 rupees per kilogram will cost only 5 rupees per kg via the sea route; showing huge differences of freight cost. India is already using the sea route for export of highly competitive fresh products to Middle Eastern markets and now Pakistan will also be able to compete in the market of vegetable and horticulture products as long as the experiment of sea freight is succeeds. Exporters will use the route commercially to export fruit and vegetable to Dubai – which is the destination of at least 35 percent of Pakistani vegetables – after observing the response of the first consignment shipped on February 20th. Waheed stated the consignment that has been shipped will reach Dubai within three to four days. He lauded the efforts of the Agricultural Market Development of USAID and Pakistan Plant Protection Department (PPPD) for striving hard to boost the value chain and marketing of fruit and vegetables. The consignment of nine vegetables (seven tons in weight) was earlier grown, processed, and packed under the supervision of experts from AMD-USAID at a pack house in Gharu, Sindh. The process was monitored by Dr Mubarak Ahmed, former Director General of the PPPD and Dr Waqar Ahmed of AMD-USAID’s Value Chain. On the occasion, Dr Mubarak said that the processing and packaging as per the requirement of shipment via sea routes has become common practice in the world. This way Pakistan can boost its export of fresh vegetables and fruit. Peter Dickrell, Chief of Party of the AMD Project, congratulated PFVA for the successful shipment saying that this project would open up new doors for growers, exporters, processors and all other stakeholders of the industry. He said under the AMD project, five exporters of Pakistan will receive the consignment at Dubai and display the vegetables at the upcoming Gulf Food Festival.