Vegetable exports down $16m

KARACHI: Vegetable exports have recorded a decline in the vicinity of $16 million to date as a result of losses occurring due to the floods. Daily exports of vegetables from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have fallen from 70 tons to four tons.

Meanwhile, mango exports have also dropped by Rs1.3 billion. It has been estimated that about 2,500 acres of mango farms have been swept away In Punjab. Furthermore, due to flooding in Southern Punjab, exports of chaunsa mango are down by 35,000 tons. The produce that has survived is of poor quality.

All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association Chairman Wahid Ahmed has expressed fears that unless prompt support is provided to small and medium-scale farmers and horticultural traders, Pakistan may lose its foothold in its export markets.

Achieving the 150,000 tons target set for mango exports has been now been declared almost impossible. Daily exports of vegetables from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were halted for almost a month following the floods and have just been restored, he explained.

He pointed out that the export of vegetables from Sindh starts in September but the floods have destroyed farmlands in Thatta and adjoining areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2010.