LAHORE, Dec 8: Pakistani exporters have started processing and grading of citrus fruit for exports to Iran after a gap of 25 years. Talking to Dawn here on Thursday, Shamoon Sadiq of Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) said that after signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for export of 20,000 tons of citrus fruit during a visit by a PHDEB mission to Iran, Pakistani exporters were now processing export consignments.

The first consignment should reach the Iranian port by the end of this month, he said adding that there would be possibly a stream of consignments reaching Iran in the next few months.

The Iranian government, he said, has also allowed export of citrus fruit in reefer containers as part of the cold treatment required to maintain the quality of the fruit. This is a major concession provided to the exporters helping them to save time in shipments, he added.

As per the agreement, the exporters were required to keep citrus in cold stores for 16 days at a temperature of 2.2 degree C. Now, the time consumed in the reefer container during the journey would also be considered a part of the cold treatment.

He expressed the hope that exports of citrus fruit could increase three times if the exporters could fulfil the export requirements agreed to with Iran. The PHDEB delegation has received an expression of interest for export of over 50,000 tons, but it would largely depend on exportable capacity of the exporters.

Meanwhile, a delegation from China has arrived in the country to inspect arrangements for the export of kinno. Both these markets could off-set the loss in export of citrus fruit to Indonesia, which had increased duty on import of Pakistani kinno from 5 per cent to 25 per cent last year.

To a query, the PHDEB official said that there would be no shortage of citrus fruit in the domestic market due to excessive exports as the country is heading for a bumper crop.