Pakistan eyes enhanced kinnow exports to China
PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan expects to enhance orange exports to China this year, a top government official said.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood pointed out that the mango season had already provided good revenue.
In 2020-21, Pakistan exported a record 460,000 tons of oranges, marking this as the highest-ever volume during any season.
The export season that ended in April 2021, around 460,000 tons of oranges had been exported from the country worldwide, up 30% compared to the previous season.
The demand for Pakistani oranges is on the rise worldwide. Meanwhile, Pakistan hit over $2 billion export mark for the seventh consecutive month in April, as the country’s overall exports stood at $2.191 billion in April 2021, Dawood mentioned.
Speaking to China Economic Net, Dawood remarked that China was a great destination for Pakistani agricultural products.
“China has been helping Pakistan both ways. They are helping us enhance agricultural production and are buying fruits. For this, we are thankful to China. We are working out the target for oranges export to China. We are expecting a rise in exports to China,” he maintained.
The adviser recalled that Pakistan’s export for April 2021 stood at $2.191 billion. “This is the first time since 2011 that our monthly exports have crossed the $2 billion mark for seven consecutive months,” he added.
Recently, Pakistan’s kinnow (orange) industry saw neighbouring Iran lift restrictions on the import of kinnow.
Pakistan is one of the top citrus producers in the world. Citrus contributes about 30% to the country’s total fruit output.
According to a report released by the China-Pakistan Agricultural and Industrial Cooperation Information Platform, Pakistan earned its highest export revenue of $222 million from the export volume of 370,000 tons of kinnow in 2020.
The report also points out that most of the citrus fruit produced by Pakistan is consumed in foreign markets. Among the exported varieties, kinnow is the most important one.
THe ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE CHINA ECONOMIC NET
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2021.
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