Iranian restrictions may hit kinnow exports

Pakistan to lose out on 80,000-100,000 tons of exports if Iranian market remains closed.

KARACHI: Kinnow exports have started this month as more than 500 tons of the fruit were exported to Dubai and Sri Lanka in the first 10 days of November.

The kinnow export target for the current year is 260,000 tons, which is only 10,000 tons more than last year’s target of 250,000 tons. The target last year was met successfully.

Explaining this slight increase in the export target, Waheed Ahmed, the former chairman of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Importers and Merchants Association, said that kinnow production declines in the year after a bumper crop. The country witnessed a bumper crop last year of two million tons, he informed, adding that production this year is expected to be between 1.6 and 1.7 million tons.

He also explained that due to heavy rainfall this year, the size of the fruit is expected to be very large but demand from Europe and Russia is for smaller sized fruits.

Despite the slight increase in the export target in light of these facts, the target itself presents a challenge since the Iranian market remains closed this year, explained Ahmed.

Iran, along with the Middle East and Far East, is the country’s largest export market for kinnow and almost 40 per cent of exports end up in these markets, he said, adding that Iranian restrictions for its importers are presenting a challenge for kinnow exporters.

The Iranian government has not granted permission to its importers yet, he informed and said that the issue needed to be resolved between respective governments.

Ahmed said that if the Iranian market remained closed, then the country will lose out on 80,000-100,000 tons of kinnow exports.

Kinnow exports to Russia are also expected to halve in volume from last year’s size of 78,000 tons to this year’s expected export of 40,000 tons.

Ahmed also said that increasing costs of production have become a problem for exporters. A 30 per cent rise in packaging and transportation costs have meant that prices of kinnows at the start of the season have increased from Rs300 per maund last year to Rs500 per maund this year, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2010.