The Pakistani government has set a goal to export 400,000 tons this season, and based on export numbers from previous years, it is an ambitious goal. Local companies have made efforts to ramp up production in order to meet this goal, though the political situation in a couple of key markets makes achieving the export goal challenging.
“We will be striving for some good exports, and, to that end, we've invested in new cold storage and infrastructure upgrades so we can increase our orange exports,” said Ahmad Jawad, CEO of Harvest Tradings. “We believe if we don't make these upgrades then it will be difficult to meet our exports competitively. Jawad's company recently undertook a joint venture with SM Kinnow Factory to handle the exports collectively of Kinnow's unique orange variety that's grown in Pakistan. By joining forces with the new brand of SMHT Exports now both companies expect to grow annual orange exports by 3,000 tons every year.
"As Punjab has the ideal climate for producing kinnows," explained SMHT' Director, Ms. Naila Khan, “We see huge opportunity for the high quality kinnows grown in this region. We are planning to setup post harvest handling infrastructure to ensure availability of kinnows throughout the season.”
Global politics a challenge
While Pakistani growers are busy working to meet orange export targets, the political situation in two key markets could force the government to adjust its export goals. Indonesia has stopped importing fruit from several big trading partners, and if Indonesia doesn't take Pakistani oranges, then meeting the 400,000 ton goal will be almost impossible.
“Indonesia is a big market for Pakistan in terms of volume,” said Jawad. “So speculation on a ban can impact the current export target. We also have to consider the sanctions on Iran.” Pakistan considers Iran a key trading partner, though Jawad estimates that the Iranian market consumes about 50,000 to 70,000 tons of Pakistani oranges every year. Economic sanctions on Iran will make it difficult to increase those numbers, but now lifting of those sanctions on Iran would likely make Pakistan's export targets more manageable. Pakistan gets ample opportunity to restarts its official trade which gives billion dollars of saving to the country. “This is a day we were awaiting on for years. There will be big changes now as the United States will no longer apply its crippling sanctions on Iran's economy, especially on the banking sector," Jawad added.
Russia also key
The Russian market is important for Pakistan's exporters, and though SMHT will have to compete with Egyptian exporters, who also have large quantities of oranges available for export at that time, Jawad believes Pakistani shippers can grow their market share in Russia.
“Egypt has its own variety and we have our own kinnows,” said Jawad. “There is competition in one sense, but this just gives Russians more options in terms of taste and appearance, so I don't think Egyptian fruit hurts Pakistani sales. Kinnows are only available from Pakistan, and their taste and easy peeling attract buyers from all over the world.”
