Exporters have so far dispatched around 6,000 tonnes of kinno to markets in the Middle East, Sri Lanka and the Philippines since Dec 1. The All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) has set a citrus export target of 300,000 tonnes for the current season, projected to earn about $110 million.
During the previous season, Pakistan exported 250,000 tonnes of kinno, which brought in $95m. PFVA Patron-in-Chief Waheed Ahmed said this year’s output is significantly higher, with total kinno production expected to reach 2.7m tonnes, compared to 1.7m tonnes a year earlier.
He noted, however, that despite the bumper crop, Pakistan’s kinno exports remain about 50 per cent below the 550,000 tonnes shipped five years ago. He blamed this decline primarily on insufficient research and development in citrus farming and continued dependence on old varieties that are less resilient to changing environmental conditions, instead of introducing improved cultivars.
In a statement, Mr Ahmed said the PFVA has submitted short-, medium- and long-term proposals to the government aimed at boosting kinno exports. He claimed that, if these measures are adopted, Pakistan could successfully introduce new citrus varieties and raise annual kinno export earnings to $400m within the next five years.
