Trade expansion: PFVA submits recommendations to NA body

KARACHI: All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) has submitted its recommendations to special committee of the National Assembly on Agriculture products for the betterment of trade.

These recommendations would then be reviewed by the committee during its next session and the concerned Ministries would be issued necessary directives to ensure resolution of the issues from that day onwards.

The federal government has assured PFVA to resolved issues on priority basis related to export of fruits & vegetables. Waheed Ahmed Patron-in-Chief PFVA informed that the meeting of the special committee of the National Assembly on Agriculture products was chaired by Malik Muhammad Ahsan Tiwana and besides representatives of various Ministries & departments, Dr. Fahmeeda Mirza, the Minister for Inter-provincial co-ordination also participated in this important meeting. During the meeting Waheed Ahmed briefed about the issues highlighted in the Horticulture Vision 2030 (HV30) a roadmap, developed by the PFVA through an extensive consultation with all the stakeholders. He apprised the committee that the agriculture sector was confronted with numerous serious challenges including climate change, lack of Research & Development (R&D), low production due to use of primitive harvesting methods, pre & post-harvest losses, low Quality, non-availability of new varieties, inefficient supply chain and high freight cost. He assured the committee that if the recommendations to resolve issues of the sector highlighted in the HV-2030 are implemented in letter & spirit, the export of Fruits & Vegetables can be enhanced to $2 billion in three years and $ 6 billion in 10 years.

He also mentioned here due to the deadly global pandemic Corona virus, the cost of sea freight has multiplied many folds imposing a serious barrier in enhancement of exports, however the chances to avail the opportunity of TIR (International Transit Trade by road) by Pakistan are bright and by using this facility our country can export agri-products with minimum cost & time to important international markets but to achieve that, the sector needs trailers and reefer containers.

The Committee has assigned a task to PFVA to submit a short-term plan of issues along with recommendations at the earliest so that by convening a meeting of the concerned ministries, the issues can be resolved expeditiously.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021