KARACHI: The government is taking measures to tap chilli exports potential of 90,000 tonnes a year, which can help the country earn $47 million in foreign exchange, the federal food minister said on Tuesday.

For that, the country has to improve the supply chain of chillies as well as other spices to fetch better prices and boost exports volume, Minister for Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan said while speaking at a seminar titled ‘On Export Potential of Chillies’.

Expressing concern over a steep fall in the exports of the commodity after a number of shipments were rejected, he said the government plans to set up a board to improve the value chain of spices. “It’s necessary that all the stakeholders are taken on board,” he said.

He also stressed the need for improving per-hectare yield and adopting modern techniques to make the chilli crop free of aflatoxin, a substance that can cause liver damage and cancer.

The minister said research institutes should be set up to use modern techniques for growing, picking and processing of the commodity.

“When exports of chilli or other spices are rejected due to any reason, it not only hurts the entire supply chain but also directly hits the rural economy,” he told the seminar, organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in collaboration with the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and Sindh Agriculture Growth Project.

In his welcome address, TDAP Chief Executive S.M. Muneer said Pakistan used to export substantial quantity of chillies, but the volume has recently declined due to restrictions imposed by some countries, particularly the European ones.

One of the major reasons for restriction on Pakistan’s chilli exports was aflatoxin contamination, he said. In fact, data showed that around 35 per cent of the rejections were solely due to excessive level of mycotoxins.

Pakistan had a global market share of 6pc, he said, adding that last fiscal year it exported chillies and its powder worth $4.7 million to various destinations, mainly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, the United States and Kuwait.

Mian Mohammad Saleem, president of Red-Chilli Growers Association, Kunri, urged the government to set up a chilli development board so that all the stakeholders have a platform to get their issues resolved.

A representative of a processing company, Mohsin Ahmed, told participants of the seminar that aflatoxin could only be managed in chilli by proper picking and handling, improving traditional sun drying practices, sorting, etc. The modern method to dry chillies is the use of high-tech dehydration plants.

Published in Dawn September 21st, 2016