Pakistan is missing out on potentially lucrative revenues from its apples through lack of investment in the sector, according to leading produce industry pundits.
Former chairman of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association Waheed Ahmed, and Harvest Tradings CEO Ahmad Jawad claim Pakistani apples have tremendous export potential thanks to their good colour, size, quality, juice content, crunchiness and aroma, but only negligible volumes are exported.
“Our apple is the best in the world in terms of taste, but we only export very small volumes,” Mr Jawad told Fruitnet.com. “We need to create proper strategy with the help of the public and private sectors to develop exports. We need to promote our apples all over the world. We should be targeting the Middle East, Asian and European markets.”
A dearth of public and private investment in the country’s apple sector recently led to the closure of the government’s only apple grading plant (Quetta), opened in 2008. And growers in Pakistan’s main apple-growing region Balochistan (south-west Pakistan) have begun scrubbing orchards because of poor returns from the fruit, exporters said.
As a result, Pakistan’s 2011 apple crop is likely to be 35 per cent down on last year when 500,000 tonnes were produced.
Harvest Tradings’ Mr Jawad, said the government must devise a comprehensive strategy to grow apple exports.
“The government needs to encourage the private sector (through grants) to invest in proper apple processing and storage facilities in order to improve quality and boost exports,” he said.
“On my recommendation, Bashir Hussain, Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) CEO, is establishing PHDEC apple export committee, and has asked the kinnow, mango and date export committees – which are made up of exporters and PHDEC officials – for suggestions on how we can make Pakistani apple exports viable. We will then present these suggestions to the government.”
