Edge in horticultural products highlighted

A two-day “Khad Mela and Pakistan Horti Expo 2023”, organised by the Punjab Agriculture Department, concluded at the Expo Centre in the provincial capital on Sunday. A large number of officers and farmers, importers and exporters participated in the event.

Forty-five delegations of importers and exporters from nine countries -- Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Russia -- also participated in the international exhibition, and 100 stalls were set up by domestic and international institutions. Addressing the closing ceremony of the exhibition, Punjab Agriculture Secretary Ahmad Aziz Tarar said that the agriculture sector in Pakistan was the source of foreign exchange acquisition of nearly 63 per cent of which 70 percent depended on the province of Punjab.

In terms of production of dates and citrus (kinnow, malta, orange) Pakistan ranks as the third largest country while in terms of production of mangoes, Pakistan ranks fourth in the world, he added.

He said, "Pakistan has a prominent position in the export of horticultural products worldwide." He said that by organising the "Khad Mela and Pakistan Horti Expo 2023", farmers got awareness about the balanced use of fertilisers and horticultural crops. The exhibition helped enhance possibilities of Pakistani horticultural products getting new markets around the world.

A seminar was also organised to provide information about modern production technology to the participants.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2023.