ISLAMABAD, March 29: Production of citrus fruit, including kinno, witnessed a drastic decrease this year as compared to last year’s harvest of over two million tons, says an official report.

It is estimated that high price in East European market might compensate loss of volume, besides surge in exports to Russia in achieving the export target of $30 million mark for the current year.

According to a report of Pakistan Horticulture Development Export Board (PHDEB), weather was not conducive for kinno growth this year and untimely rains coupled with unusual increase in mercury resulted in higher percentage of droppings.

The report projected kinno production in the range of 1.2 to 1.3 million tons this year as against the total production of over 2 million tons last year.

According to statistics, last year around 200,000 tons of kinno were exported. This year, the export could be less in volume but would be compensated through consignments being sent to high priced east European markets.

The report said that export season would end by mid April and the PHDEB was optimistic that the exports in terms of value would remain at last year’s level of $30 million.

Kinno exporters claimed that increase in prices of the fruit was not due to rise in export but because of low production. They said exporting kinoo this year to traditional markets of the Middle East was impossible, as orchid owners and contractors have raised the price of export varieties from last year’s Rs170-180 per maund to Rs700-800 this season.

At the start of kinno season, the price was Rs400-450 per maund that has gradually increased to current level of Rs800 per maund. The kinno exporters have been under pressure in recent years.

They first lost the Far East market where Indonesia alone accounted for 50 per cent of exports, when it increased import duty on kinno from five to 40 per cent. Last year, kinno exports to Iran and Dubai were significant but the orders dried because of high prices this year.

Global citrus production was 27.33 million tons last year. Pakistan produced 2.1m tons of citrus fruit that was 5.5 per cent of global production. Its share in world citrus production would be around three per cent this year.

World citrus exports are valued at $2.122 billion in which Pakistan’s share was $30 million that was around 2.5 per cent. This is due to export of citrus to low price countries.

This year the exporters found the high price markets of Russia and Ukraine, where quality regulation were still soft. They could fetch still better price if the exporters fulfil the quality regulations of the EU at farm and production level, added the report.