FPCCI says Iran likely to formally allow Pakistani oranges

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee Chairman Ahmad Jawad said that they expect the Iranian Agriculture Ministry to allow the import of oranges and potatoes formally from Pakistan in the upcoming season, which begins from December 1”

Jawad said that Iranian Embassy should also intervene so that official trade can be started, which is the need of the hour. We were hopeful that this year’s export of oranges will take place, as we had a serious of discussion with Iranian embassy’s officials in this regard.

Pakistan will start exporting oranges in the first week of December, while exporters expect the fruit to fetch a little above $220 million.

Jawad said that this year’s oranges were of high quality and the crop is expected to get matured by the last week of November. During the last season, the country had exported 340,000 tonnes of oranges, fetching around $200 million.

“The export target is more or less the same and this year the quality of fruit is excellent, but the production seems to be less than the last year’s,” he added. Talking about the new markets, he said Indonesia had given quota for February and March, while negotiations were underway for the months of December and January as well. “Pakistan’s total exports to Indonesia are around $171 million, and imports stand at $2 billion. There is no quota limits in Pakistan for Indonesian products, but still our products face several restrictions.” “The Commerce Ministry should pursue the issue with their Indonesian counterparts so that the 1,600 containers market could be properly tapped. One container carries 26 tonnes of oranges, he added.

Jawad said that this year exporters would also tap Chinese markets, which are lying dormant since long despite the fact there are no quota or quarantine restrictions. “Moreover, Iran is likely to grant quota this year and Pakistan would be able to export 50,000 tonnes of oranges.”

He said that Iran was an important market for us and that Pakistani oranges have the capacity to tap 100,000 tonnes of volume in one to two years easily, but during the international sanctions, fruit had been exported through Taftan Boarder. It hurt our farmers and exporters at large because the announcement of Iran market gives a positive message to the growers in the anticipation of getting good rates in the season from the exporters, but every year formal trade didn’t execute, he added. Jawad further told $15 billion worth of citrus varieties and its value added products is present in the international market. Pakistan by introducing other varieties of oranges in the country can generate over $1 billion through exporting the fruit every year, he added. As PARC already introduced two new varieties of citrus, this needs to be planted at production hubs on priority. Government may activate the Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC) so that necessary collaboration can be held with the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and the government of Punjab, he concluded.