Fruit bagging attracts buyers

Better-quality produce gets encouraging response from Japan, Korea, China, EU

ISLAMABAD':

Pakistan's fruit bagging programme has received encouraging feedback from premium international markets in the wake of enhanced quality and marketability of the country's produce.

The international markets from where Pakistani products have received a good response include Japan, South Korea, China and the European Union.

Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) Chief Executive Officer revealed this in a meeting with Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan where he gave a briefing on the marketing of Pakistani produts in the global market.

The federal minister for commerce reviewed the performance of PHDEC and directed the officials of the organisation to accelerate value addition, modernise processing technologies and make export-oriented interventions to strengthen Pakistan's horticulture sector. During the meeting, PHDEC CEO Muhammad Naseer briefed the minister on the organisation's achievements, ongoing projects and future roadmap aimed at enhancing horticultural exports and improving farmers' income.

The minister appreciated PHDEC's successful fruit bagging initiative, describing it as a transformative intervention that has significantly improved the quality, appearance and export competitiveness of Pakistani fruits.

He directed PHDEC officers to expand the initiative beyond mangoes, bananas and guavas to commercially important crops, particularly dates, while also extending it to grapes and peaches.

To ensure long-term sustainability, Jam Kamal told PHDEC to work with Pakistan's paper manufacturing industry, private-sector partners and provincial governments to explore the local production of fruit bagging materials by reducing reliance on imports and making the technology affordable for growers across the country.

The PHDEC CEO informed the minister that the fruit bagging programme had received encouraging feedback from the premium international markets, including Japan, South Korea, China and the European Union, where it had enhanced the quality and marketability of Pakistani produce. The federal minister also lauded PHDEC's initiatives promoting freeze-drying, spray-drying and fruit dehydration technologies, calling them game-changing opportunities for producing premium-quality, value-added products with longer shelf life while preserving the nutritional value and taste.

He emphasised that those technologies could drive the growth of cottage industries and small-scale agro-processing enterprises, create employment opportunities and generate sustainable export earnings.

He directed the PHDEC to expand freeze-drying initiatives to northern Pakistan and Balochistan and strengthen collaboration with Chinese-supported value-addition projects in the province.

The meeting was informed that PHDEC was also distributing solar tunnel dryers among chilli growers to reduce aflatoxin contamination, improve product quality and enhance the export potential of Pakistani chillies.

Reviewing the PHDEC's future roadmap, the minister endorsed plans to organise provincial horticulture expos, launch a subsidised certification support programme for around 100 horticulture stakeholders, facilitate business-to-business engagements, generate market intelligence and undertake cluster and product mapping to strengthen the horticultural value chains.

Jam Kamal further emphasised that institutions such as the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Pakistan should provide greater financial support to clusters of cottage industries and small-scale processors, enabling them to adopt modern technologies and expand export-oriented businesses.

He gave directives that PHDEC-supported enterprises and exhibitors be given the opportunity for greater participation in the upcoming FoodAg exhibition to enhance market access, business networking and export opportunities.

Reaffirming the government's commitment to export-led growth, Jam Kamal assured PHDEC of full support and called for stronger coordination with provincial governments, research institutions and the private sector to develop efficient horticulture clusters, strengthen supply chains and unlock the full export potential of the horticulture sector.