KARACHI: Pakistan’s kinno export this season is likely to shrink by 50 per cent from 450,000 tonnes a few years ago.

The country would earn only $100 million instead of $220m despite a good crop of 2.75m tonnes versus 1.75m tonnes last year.

The issues of quality and shelf life have deeply impacted the exports.“From the last year, the quality of fruit has dropped significantly from the previous years,” All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) Patron-in-Chief Waheed Ahmed said.

The exports are likely to be confined to one and a half months, he feared, adding that shipments usually kick off from Nov 15 and end in February/March.

Besides domestic issues, he said that China, Morocco, Egypt and Turkey have bumper citrus production this season whose seedless quality, appearance and shelf life are far superior, which is another challenge being faced by the exporters.

He recalled that Pakistan exported 250,000-275,000 tonnes of kinno last year, fetching $140m.

He claimed that half of the 200 processing plants for kinno have shut down, thus putting Rs300bn investment and employment of 400,000 people at stake.

The export consignments are being rejected and large quantities of kinno are reaching the international export market in damaged conditions, causing huge financial losses to both exporters and importers, Mr Waheed said.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2024