Pine nut exports to double this year
As one of the three major pine nut varieties in the Chinese market, Pakistani pine nuts enjoy a high premium and are listed as high-end snacks. PHOTO: CHINA ECONOMIC NET
Now the flight from Lahore to Kunming has been loaded with pine nuts. Such air freight service generally lasts five months, from the end of September to February of next year, said Wu Qingtao, Sales Director of Aviation Management Department of YTO Express (International) Holdings Ltd.
“Last year, we shipped 2,000 tons of pine nuts from Pakistan to China, and we expect the quantity to reach 3,000-5,000 tons this year, doubling that from last year,” Wu said in an interview with the China Economic Net at the ongoing fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
Up to now, YTO Cargo Airlines has launched two routes, Kunming-Karachi air cargo route and Kunming-Lahore air cargo route, with four weekly flights per route, totalling eight flights.
Pine nuts are being mainly transported via the Kunming-Lahore air cargo route in this season.
According to official data of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), in the first nine months of 2022, China imported a total of 4,290 tons of pine nuts in shell from Pakistan worth $47.69 million, over five times the value of fresh or dried nuts exported to China in 2018, which was $9.5 million.
The increase in pine nut exports is closely related to aviation convenience. the article originally appeared on the China Economic Net
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2022.
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