LAHORE, Oct 8: The Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board (PHDEB) is trying to link up the private sector with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) for establishing two irradiation centres in Multan and Peshawar to preserve vegetables and fruit and enhance their shelf life.
Each irradiation plant was estimated to cost Rs60 million, PHDEB chairman Afaq Tiwana told Dawn here on Wednesday. “We have investors who are interested in investing their money in the project,” he said. However, the two plants would be managed by PARAS — the commercial wing of the PAEC. Another such plant may be set up in Karachi by PARAS itself.
“The establishment of the irradiation plants will help improve exports of perishable fruit and vegetables,” the PHDEB chairman said.
The PHDEB was set up by the government in August last year for promoting export of horticulture — fruit, vegetables, plants and such perishable items — from Pakistan that stood at $114 million in FY02-03. The farmgate value of the horticulture items produced in Pakistan is said to be around $2 billion. “We can increase our horticulture exports by 300 per cent in two or three years should we manage to provide institutional, infrastructural and marketing support to farmers, processors and exporters,” Tiwana said. He said the total value of the world horticulture market was whopping $70 billion. “Pakistan’s horticulture exports in such a huge market are just peanuts,” he said.
The PHDEB is working as “one window shop” for the horticulture stakeholders to revamp the sector and make it an “export-oriented sector”. It reflects realization on the part of the government to focus its attention on this sector and also provide institutional support to the stakeholders at all levels for developing a “value chain to boost horticulture exports by increasing volume, adding value and introducing variety”.
“The board brings all stakeholders — government, growers, and exporters — together at one platform for the resolution of every problem and issue without wasting any time. Before the setting up of the board, there was no government ministry and department that could be approached for the resolution of the issues as well as the problems,” he said.
He said the horticulture processing industry in the country was in its infancy and lacks the infrastructure required to boost the exports of perishable items. “There are many links that need to be integrated with one another to complete the value chain if we are interested in boosting horticulture exports to a desirable level. The board is performing this job. If any link is missing or weak, it will result in a financial loss to growers, exporters and other stakeholders,” he said.
“The board is supporting the stakeholders at the institutional level and building the required processing infrastructure as well as increasing exports,” Tiwana said.
The PHDEB has already helped major horticulture exporters come together in a committee to put an end to a competition between them in the foreign markets which often results in lower prices. “What we’ve asked them is to stop competing with one another in foreign markets and indulging in a price war. It’d help them fetch higher price and expand their business in the world markets according to their present share,” he said. Moreover, “standardization” of the products for export was also under way.
He said the board was “helping growers form large groups called marketing cooperatives” to allow them market their produce from a joint platform at a higher price and collectively purchase inputs at lower rates. Such a group of flower farmers had been set up in Pattoki and another of kinnoo producers in Kot Momin. They would also be linked up with processors and exporters.
He also said the board was involved in implementing a programme for plant certification process in the Punjab with the technical help of a Swiss agency, and developing cool chains with the assistance of Spain.
“We are also opening our one-man offices in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East to facilitate our horticulture exporters by providing them daily intelligence of commodities, their prices as well as volumes imported in those places,” the chairman said.