Pakistan is moving ahead with development of a local version of the international GlobalGAP good agriculture practices, with the key province Punjab now joining the discussion.
Development of the local GAP standard, being called PakGAP, is being championed by the Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC), part of the country’s ministry of commerce.
The PHDEC is now in discussion with the Punjab Agriculture Department about the new standard, an official from the organisation told Pakistan’s The News, and those negotiations are likely to give final shape to the standards.
Punjab is one of Pakistan’s major horticultural producers, but the province did not take part in earlier discussions about the development of a local GAP version, instead advocating for the implementation of the full GlobalGAP standard.
PakGAP is expected to be one step short of full GlobalGAP compliance, and meet 70-80 per cent of the international standard’s requirements, The News report quoted the PHDEC official as saying.
“We have started `the` journey in this direction and would gradually improve these standards whenever required,” the official said.
The official said that while a GAP standard was important for the domestic market, Pakistan’s fresh produce exports were the key focus of the initiative.
With financial assistance from the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the PHDEC is reportedly in the final stages of development of initial standards for mangoes and kinnow, and work is also being finalised in standards for dates and potatoes.
