Daily Times

Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) has claimed that during the last five years, exports of Kinnow have declined by 50 percent to 2.5 lac tons due to Smog and Fog.

In a press statement issued heron Monday, Patron in Chief of PFVA, Waheed Ahmad disclosed that the export target of Kinnow this season from the country has been set at 2.5 lac tons, which is 50 thousand tons less from the last year and 50 percent less for the last five years.

According to the Patron-in-Chief of the Association, Waheed Ahmed the production and quality of Kinnow is being affected to an alarming extent due to climatic effects. He said that Kinnow season is also delayed due to prolonged heat and late arrival of cold weather while on other hand production is expected to be less by 35%. “Our Kinnow variety is 60 years old which is unable to resist diseases and weather effects whereas no variety in the world lasts more than 25 years,” Waheed observed.

For the past ten years, the PFVA has been urging the Provincial and Federal governments to promote Research and Development and plant new varieties of Kinnow in new areas, but no attention has been paid so far to this aspect, which has led to the sharp decline in export of Kinnow, he added.

The production of kinnow during this season is delayed by 15 days due to hot and prolonged heat and delayed arrival of winter and thus the sweetness, moisture and quality of kinnow have been affected, which will ultimately affect the export as well as the local market. Compared to the last season, the local price will also be higher by ten percent.

Waheed Ahmed said that if three to four new varieties of kinnow are not developed, then the export of kinnow from Pakistan will be stopped in the next three years because, of the 250 kinnow processing factories half have already been closed due to heavy financial losses while employment of 300,000 people associated with the Kinnow industry and the investment of 300 billion rupees in this industry is also at stake.

Due to the difficulty of competition in the export of kinnow, the important markets of Pakistan namely – China and Iran have been closed, he said adding that the countries which used to import a lot of Kinnow from Pakistan have now attained a prominent position in the export of Kinnow. On the other hand, due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Pakistan’s main market for small-sized Kinnow to Russia is also expected to remain closed this year, Waheed expressed fear. Due to high freight charges, increased shipping time to UK, Canada and European countries, Pakistan’s kinnow exports are facing logistical problems as well, he continued.

In order to continue exports, it is imperative to take war-footing measures at the government level for the survival of the kinnow industry, focusing on Research and Development and introducing four new varieties to extend the current export season of Kinnow from three months to 6-8 months, Waheed suggested.