Pakistan's kinnow mandarin export season has got off to a difficult start due to tough competition from cheaper Chinese fruit and no access to the Indonesian market, reports leading shipper Harvest Tradings.
A potential delay to Iran's traditional cut in import duty on Pakistani kinnows could also severely dent export volumes this season, the firm's CEO Ahmad Jawad said.
Iran typically imports around 60,000 tonnes of Pakistani kinnows once tariffs are lowered from 90 per cent to 4 per cent in early January. But exporters fear the drop in duty could be delayed, missing their peak export season.
Mr Jawad added that 50 per cent of total Pakistani kinnow exports are currently shipped to 'commissioned' markets in the Middle East where returns are low.
He said the government instead must promote exports to new growth markets, like China, India, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
There is an urgent need to exploit these markets, Mr Jawad said.
Pakistan's kinnow export season started two weeks later than usual in late December, according to Harvest Tradings.Pakistani kinnow shippers have set an export target of 0.3m tonnes this season, worth around US$100m.
