Businessmen reject ban on perishable food export

Desperate for ramping up exports, the government finds itself in a difficult situation when apparently perishable food prices rise due to an increase in their exports.

In a recent meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC), Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin gave directive to ban the export of perishable items for three months, a move aimed at curbing inflation and ensuring the availability of goods to local consumers.

However, the business community is disagreeing with the instruction, saying “horticulture exports will suffer a setback”.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) former chief of horticulture exports Ahmad Jawad said: “The ban on perishable goods exports will hurt the export cycle of horticulture industry.”

The ban could hurt horticulture exports at a time when Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to increase exports to the optimum level, he said, adding that all sectors should perform in the same manner to achieve the optimum level.

He highlighted that the horticulture sector contributed around $750 million to the national exchequer every year, excluding halal meat, rice and other food items.

“Pakistan could not export even 50% of the production of onion, tomato and fruits; our maximum export volume of each crop is not more than 10%,” said Jawad.

“We are the fifth largest producer of onion with output of more than two million tons, but still onion farmers get minimal rates,” he said.

In fiscal year 2021, Pakistan’s exports of food basket stood at $4.393 billion against $4.361 billion in the previous year, indicating a growth of 0.74%.

Of these, rice exports were valued at $2 billion, while the remaining amount was fetched by other food items, he added.

Jawad said the decision was likely made in the wake of seasonal variations and the evolving situation in Afghanistan, adding that “domestic prices may be controlled through effective monitoring by the district administration, because every product has to be passed on to consumers through three to four middlemen”.

“If the government controls this, consumers may definitely get essential goods at affordable rates,” he said.

Moreover, diesel prices should be curtailed as continuous price hike was one of the major factors behind the current inflation, he said.

On the other hand, Iran after nine years has lifted restrictions on the import of Pakistani kinnow this year.

Iran had a market for 80,000-90,000 tons of Pakistani kinnow, which was the biggest after Russia, Jawad said, adding that a ton of the citrus fruit was valued at around $500.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2021.

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