Comment by Riaz Haq on August 18, 2012 at 6:34pm

Here's Express Tribune on Pakistani mangoes exports to China:

After years of struggle, Pakistan finally added one of the world’s largest markets for its mangoes – China. The development, a major breakthrough in mango exports, will add millions of dollars to the country’s foreign reserves.

“Pakistan’s mangoes have become a centre of attraction in the largest retail chain of China – Walmart – where the king of fruit is being offered for sale,” Durrani Associates, one of the largest fruit exporters, said in a statement on Saturday.

The exporter was able to access the Chinese market, currently dominated by Taiwanese, Filipino and Thai varieties, after a sample of mangoes, shipped by sea a month ago, earned overwhelming success at Walmart stores.

The shipment contained two containers with 40 tons of mangoes. Firm’s Chairman Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani also visited China at that time and met with representatives of Walmart, which had 370 stores in 140 cities and four municipalities of China by March 1.

“It took us a while before we got clearance from Beijing,” Durrani said. The containers were held at the port and 20 cartons each were taken from both the containers for inspection, he said. After a week-long process, the Quarantine Department cleared the shipment by declaring that the mangoes were free from all diseases.

According to the statement, a three-member team of Chinese importers will visit Pakistan next week to strike an agreement for purchase of 100 tons of mangoes for Walmart stores in the running season.

The delegation will also visit the hot water treatment (HWT) plant – a facility set up for the processing and treatment of mangoes to meet international standards. They will inspect the arrangements for quality control.
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In China, mangoes of Thailand are selling at $1.5 per mango, the amount the company pays in air freight alone, making it impossible to compete, Durrani said.

“Exporting mangoes by sea to China is a big breakthrough,” Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani, the chairman, said because it will bring freight cost down to $0.75 per mango, which means Pakistan’s mangoes can sell for about $1.25 in Chinese stores.

China is one of the countries that applies global standards on mango imports. To meet the standards, mangoes are treated before export. There are four known ways of treatment, out of which three are recognised across the world – HWT, vapour heat treatment (VHT) and radiation.
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Pakistan has a capacity to treat 15 tons of mangoes per hour. The private sector has the ability to shelve mangoes for 35 days after treatment while other exporting countries could shelve mangoes for maximum seven days, the statement claimed.

According to the chairman, Pakistan is world’s 5th largest producer of mango, which can produce up to 2 million tons. Mango varieties particularly Sindhri, Chaunsa and Sunehri can beat others because of their taste, he said.

“China can be the biggest market of Pakistani mangoes and within three years exports can be doubled,” he added.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/423993/new-destination-pakistani-mangoe...

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 23, 2012 at 10:08am

Here's an ET report on HWT technology to increase shelf life and exports of fruits and veggies in Pakistan:

The establishment of Karachi’s hot water treatment (HWT) plant – a facility for post-harvest treatment and processing of fruits and vegetables – is a very good example of how the country’s agriculture sector can benefit by investing in technological advancements. It is because of this technology that Pakistan has been able to venture into some of the world’s largest markets for its mango over the past couple of months.

In order to expand mango exports, Durrani Associates, one of Pakistan’s largest mango exporters, in partnership with the government, set up the Rs220 million HWT plant, which is officially known as Pakistan Horti Fresh Processing (Pvt) Limited. This investment, according to Durrani Associates’ Director Babar Khan Durrani, can be recovered within five years.

Durrani told The Express Tribune that they were already exporting mangoes to Tesco in the United Kingdom and Carrefour in the rest of Europe – two of the world’s largest retail chains – but HWT facility has opened new markets for the exporters. The exporters can use the facility and ship their products via sea now, which will enable them to sell at competitive prices.

HWT increases shelf life of mangoes to 35 days, thus they can now be shipped by sea to remote destinations, a major development, which reduces freight charges to a great extent.

Take the example of China, Durrani said, where air freight alone costs more than $1.25 per kg of mangoes. The processed mangoes can be shipped by sea, he said, bringing the cost down to $0.20 per kg. As a result, the Pakistani exporter was able to impress Walmart China, which, in a week’s time, will strike a contract for supply of another 100 tons of mangoes.
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Talking about how this technology has helped expand mango exports, Durrani said fruits and vegetables processed by HWT facility meet requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Quarantine Standards, thus making them globally acceptable.

In the past, Pakistan’s mangoes were denied access to several key markets including the US and China because of nine diseases. HWT kills anthicolas, a major disease that results in black spots on mango skin.

“The skin of our mango is rough but its taste is very good,” company’s Chairman Abdul Qadir Khan Durrani said. “HWT improves the skin while killing all diseases after treating at 50 degrees for an hour,” he added.

He claimed Pakistan has world’s largest HWT plant having capacity to treat 15 tons of mangoes per hour. The second largest plant is in Mexico that treats 4.5 tons of mangoes per hour, he said.

Besides the $2,200 per ton market of Europe, the $1,600 per ton market of China could prove to be the largest importer of Pakistan’s mangoes, Durrani said.
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By contrast, the mango exports are 8% of the production or less than 50% of the export potential, a strong indication that there is still a huge space for more investment on the technology front. “We need more than 10 such plants for meeting mango demand of North American markets,” Director Durrani said.

“Our agriculture sector lacks technology. People shy away from using technology.” It will take a while before all farmers adopt new technologies, he said.
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“About 30% to 40% of our fruits and vegetables are wasted because they are not processed,” Durrani said. “Given the HWT plant can process almost every fruit and vegetable that we produce, we can save our produce from being wasted,” he added.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/424992/fountain-of-youth-technological-...

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 5, 2012 at 12:59pm

Here's a FreshPlaza story on peach farming in Pakistan:

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Firms Project has successfully trained 449 peach farm SMEs in Swat, Pakistan under a USD 600,000 revitalization program, that aims to facilitate them in gaining access to greater revenues and market linkages; and make overall infrastructure improvements to strengthen the sector.

Swat relies heavily on the horticulture sector with 67 percent of the total peaches produced in Pakistan coming from Swat. In recent years however, calamities have wreaked havoc on agriculture, affecting sales and jobs in the region. The main constraints to growth include lack of infrastructure, poor access to inputs, market linkages, credit facilities, untrained workforce, and poor management practices affecting the quality and yield of the produce.

USAID’s assistance to the Pakistan's peach sector includes trainings, infrastructure, supplies, technical support, tools, and certifications for peach farm SMEs of Swat, under a cost sharing agreement. 449 peach farm SMEs that signed agreements with USAID Firms Project earlier this month received pre and post harvest trainings as part of the capacity building component of this assistance. 150 SMEs have received in-kind support in the form of pruning kits, harvesting kits, and corrugated cartons. Distribution to the remaining 299 will finish by the end of July. The tools and equipment will help ensure minimum damage to fruit during harvest, thereby reducing losses to the growers. To coordinate the effort, cluster leaders have been appointed who ensure a smooth flow of operations with farm SMEs within their clusters and work with them to increase output.

Together these interventions will help peach farm SMEs in adopting best management practices and peach farming techniques, attaining larger scale production, increasing yield, and tapping into competitive new markets. Atta Ullah, a local peach grower from Swat said, “These pruning and harvesting kits and all the other assistance from USAID will benefit the smaller farms and increase the revenue for these SMEs by 10 percent.” Another grower explained “We have learnt so many things we can do better. The training brings new management practices to us and is helping us access gains which were not possible before”.

To further strengthen the sector, USAID Pakistan Firms Project is providing assistance to these SMEs for competitive marketing and product placement, and creating linkages between SMEs from Swat and large-scale buyers and retailers. An existing peach pulping unit in Swat will also be up-graded with modern infrastructure to meet the demand of peach pulp.

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=100449

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 5, 2012 at 3:55pm

Here's a Dawn report on Pakistan's rising citrus exports:

The exports of Pakistani citrus have registered an increase of 70 per cent in a year, Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim told National Assembly on Wednesday.

In a written reply to the question of Ms Nighat Parveen Mir, he said the exports of citrus have been increased up to US$162.6 million from July to March in the year 2011-12 compared to US$95.8 million during the corresponding period last year.

The country has also exported 247,909 metric ton mangoes to various countries from 2008 to 2010-11. In the year 2008-09, as many as 73,437 metric ton mangoes were exported, while 84,921 MT mangoes were exported in 2009-10, and 89,551 MT mangoes were exported in 2010-11.

In a written reply to another question he said, European Union – the union of 27 European countries is the largest business partner of Pakistan. EU had already announced concession on 75 products for Pakistan subject to waiver. The matter is now with European Parliament for legislation before implementation. Pakistan is making diplomatic efforts for getting concessions on 75 products.

He said Pakistan will qualify for duty free access to EU from January 1, 2014 as the country has ratified all the 27 international conventions.

In reply to another question he said, Pakistan and India are in the process of normalizing bilateral trade relations under resumed composite dialogue. As a first step, negative list of 1,209 tariff lines have been notified.

With the phasing out of negative list by December 31, 2012, complete trade normalization with India will be in place subject to the removal of the non-tariff barriers by the Indian government.

In written reply to question he said, country’s imports stands at $34.82 million during 2008-09, $34.71 million in 2009-10, $ US 40.41 million in 2010-11, and $44.91 million in 2011-12.

The volume of trade between Pakistan and Africa was $2.4 billion and $3.09 billion respectively.

http://dawn.com/2012/09/05/citrus-exports-register-70-percent-incre...

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 15, 2012 at 9:28am

Here's an excerpt of a Nation report on Pakistan's wheat harvest:

In 2011-12 Pakistan farms produced 23.3m tons of wheat. The total value of that harvest is over Rs611 billion or $6.4 billion; and 20pc of our national agricultural GDP is from wheat. Combining these figures illustrate the vital importance of wheat farming to the food security, income, and economic growth of Pakistan. He said that our future food security and economic growth depend on more science and more innovation coordination nationally and internationally. He said that the rust diseases of wheat are of special concern to this community and we are aware of the threat of wheat rusts, including stem rust Ug99, to the productivity of wheat in Pakistan. Wheat Productivity Enhancement Programme (WPEP), is supporting this meeting and our national efforts to protect and enhance the productivity of wheat through the application of science to ensure wheat rusts do not hurt our wheat and that our farm productivity increases. Wheat is the leading crop of the country occupying the largest area (8.7million hectares) under any single crop. Annual wheat planning meeting has been a regular feature and always helpful in discussing research findings and formulation future strategies for enhanced wheat production. The coordination mechanism like the annual wheat meetings has been a regular activity for a long time and with the launching of the WPEP (Wheat Productivity Enhancement Programme) of Pakistan. It will further enhance and strengthen the already existing linkages between the stake holders. WPEP and USDA funded project aims to enhance and protect the productivity of wheat in Pakistan.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-onli...

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 30, 2012 at 11:44am

Here's a News excerpt on tractor sales in Pakistan:

Tractor sales increased immensely, by 190 percent YoY, to 2,855 units in comparison with the sale of 957 units in the same period last year. However, August 2012 sales (2,855 units) went slightly higher as compared to July 2012 sales (2,828 units). Al-Ghazi tractors registered a sales growth of 300 percent YoY but a sales decline of 28 percent MoM to 1,216 units. Millat tractors sales boosted by 151 percent YoY and 44 percent MoM to 1,639 units, the data said.

On cars:

Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) has recorded a decline of 30 percent year-on-year (YoY) in automobile manufacturing to 20,820 units in August 2012, according to the PAMA data released for the same month.

A month-on-month (MoM) analysis of the sector demonstrates a comparatively steady performance with the sector’s sales down by a modest 0.5 percent to 10,385 units. This can primarily be attributed to the low base effect of July 2012, owing to fiscal year-end phenomenon and implementation of taxes in the federal budget 2012-13.

Segment-wise breakup shows that car sales in August 2012 went down by 13 percent YoY to 8,467 units while the 1300cc and above segment shrunk by 17.6 percent YoY. Sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) and 4x4 registered an 18.3 percent YoY declined in August 2012, mainly due to a decrease in sales volume of Bolan, Ravi and Hilux.

Pakistan Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMC) registered a sales decline of five percent YoY to 6,002 units but continued its performance as a market leader. However, in August 2012, its market share dropped by six percent YoY to 56 percent. The reason behind this decrease was the discontinuation of its brand Alto, which was PSMC’s leading brand in 1,000cc category.

A better picture can be seen on MoM basis as it shows a seven percent improvement in sales volume of the company, the PAMA data said. This was mainly accounted for the base effect of lower sales volume in July 2012.

PSMC has been successful in attracting its Alto customers towards Mehran, Cultus and Swift models, which registered YoY enormous sales growth of 40 percent, 21 percent, and 16 percent respectively in August 2012 while other models including Liana, Bolan and Ravi showed YoY decline of 26 percent, 10 percent and 34 percent respectively.

Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU) experienced sales contraction of 28 percent YoY during August 2012 to 3,092 units. During this period, sales went down by 30 percent YoY to 6,179 units. The main reason behind this was a 10-day production halt in July-August 2012 due to higher inventory and pre-buying of buyers and road side dealers in June 2012.

Corolla’s sales decreased by five percent YoY to 2,800 units in August 2012 while Hilux sales improved by three percent YoY to 282 units. MoM sales of the Corolla grew by 14 percent while sales of Hilux drastically decreased by 50 percent, the data said.

Imported Japanese second hand cars are becoming major competitor for INDU flagship brand Corolla as during FY12 about 55,000 units of used Japanese cars were imported in the country.

Hence, it has become a serious threat for INDU as all eyes will now be on the upcoming Auto Industrial Development Program (AIDP 2012-17), which will set the course for future direction for imported cars in the country.

Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Limited (HCAR’s) experienced a sales drop of 14 percent YoY to 1,241 units in August 2012. The period under consideration portrays an improved picture as sales increases by 20 percent YoY.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-131559-PAMA-records-30pc-de...

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 22, 2012 at 10:38am

Here's a BR report on subsidized tractors in Punjab:

Tractor manufacturers have more than 10,000 tractors of various makes in their stocks for immediate delivery under the Punjab government's Green Tractor Scheme 2012-13 to the farmers before sowing of Rabi crops, a senior tractor industry executive told Business Recorder, here on Friday.

The Punjab government has completed the process of providing 10,000 tractors to farmers through transparent computerised balloting of 0.275 million applicants of 18 to 35 years age having land holding of 2 and a half acres to 25 acres irrigable and 50 acres arid land across the province. The Punjab government is providing subsidy of Rs 200,000 on each tractor. The provincial government has so far provided 30,000 tractors during the past four years under the Green Tractor scheme to the small farmers with a subsidy of Rs 6 billion to boost agriculture production in the province.

The executives said though the auto manufactures have increased prices of cars t recently yet the tractor industry is not only maintaining June 2012 prices but also giving one percent discount on the sale of tractors under the Green Tractors Scheme. They however suggested that the government should not delay payment of Rs 200,000 to the tractor manufacturers given as subsidy on the Green tractors. The prices of tractors manufactured in Pakistan are still the most competitive in the region despite severe electricity load-shedding and increased cost of production, they emphasised.

They said that small farmers suffered huge financial losses due to rain floods in Sindh and Balochistan in the out-going monsoon season this year, therefore the government should not increase the proposed rate of General Sales Tax from 5 percent to 10 percent in January next year as it would put an additional burden on the agriculture sector.

They said that the tractor industry sold 5,675 tractors in the first two months of the current financial year as against 2,000 of the previous year. President Farmers Associates of Pakistan (FAP) Dr Tariq Bucha has appreciated the Punjab government's Green Tractors Scheme and said the government should make immediate arrangements for delivery of the tractors to the lucky farmers so that they could be used them for preparing the fields before sowing of the Rabi crops seeds in time. Bucha demanded of the government to also provide subsidy and reduce the rate of GST on accessories such as trolleys, ploughs, etc.

http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1245125/

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 13, 2012 at 10:01pm

Here's Daily Times on USAID effort to enhance rural productivity in Pakistan:

US assists rural Pakistan increase productivity

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Pakistan Strategy Support Programme (PSSP) launched a 2-day First Annual Conference entitled ‘Productivity, Growth and Poverty Reduction in Rural Pakistan’ on Thursday.

The aim of this conference is to review the first year’s results from PSSP activities. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) implements the PSSP. This is a four-year USAID funded, multi-dimensional, multi-partner initiative under the Pakistan Planning Commission’s framework for economic growth.

USAID is proud to support the Planning Commission’s efforts to achieve high standards of excellence in policy formulation and research through capacity building of researchers and analysts in Pakistan, said USAID Deputy Director Rodger Garner at the inaugural session of the conference. These efforts will contribute to a stronger, brighter future for all Pakistan, he added.

A National Advisory Committee chaired by Dr Nadeem ul Haque Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan with members including Abdul Wajid Rana, Principal Officer and Secretary of Finance government of Pakistan supervises PSSP.

USAID assistance will enable Pakistan to modernise its policy formulation by improving research based policy analysis. This will create a more favourable enabling environment for investments and enterprise growth, Dr Nadeem ul Haque said.

USAID’s other economic growth activities include creating over 200,000 acres of irrigated land by the end of 2013, as well as increasing the incomes of 250,000 farmers and female agricultural workers by increasing their production and connecting them with markets throughout the country to improve sales and ultimately expand their businesses.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\12\14\story_14-12-2012_pg5_14

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 16, 2012 at 10:46am

Here's a Forbes piece on Millat tractors in Pakistan:

Almost a year after floods devastated Pakistan, swamping 5.8 million acres of farmland and displacing millions of people, Ashaq Malik, who grows cotton, sugarcane and wheat on 865 acres in Punjab province, has reason to feel optimistic. After nearly a third of his land was inundated, today he is seeing a strong harvest. "As soon as the water level fell down, we started reconstructing the houses and working on the fields," says Malik. "Today there is no problem with the crops."

Companies that service the agriculture sector are also thriving in the rebound, none more than Millat Tractors of Lahore, which also manufactures other farm gear. Last year Millat earned 2.3 billion rupees ($29 million) on sales of $263 million, a 40% increase from the previous year. In the first quarter of 2011 profits grew 52% from the same period a year earlier..

To buy his 150,000 shares, Ansari--then a 39-year-old general manager--sold a plot of land, liquidated his retirement funds and borrowed money from his father. "It was a lot of money to me back then," he says. "Today it's like a lottery coming your way. The value has increased many, many fold since then."

Today the public, including Millat's 1,600 employees, owns 42% of the company; management and kin 28%; and banks and other institutions the rest. Employees are prosperous because of stock dividends and their salaries. Most of Millat's employees pay income tax--a sign of affluence in Pakistan--and have their own cars.
..

http://www.forbes.com/global/2011/0912/best-under-a-billion-11-mill...

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 25, 2013 at 10:47am

Here's Fresh Plaza on Pak potato export effort:

Pakistan's first state of the art potato washing and grading machine was installed in Karachi and is hoped to boost the dwindling export of potatoes.

The machine was imported at a cost of Rs 10 million and is of Indian and Mexican construction.

Abdul Wahid a leading fruit exporter and former Chairman of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Importers and Exporters Association said that, despite bumper crops, a lack of modern processing and grading of the potato hindered its export.

The lack of modern equipment, for washing, for one thing, has limited export to a few markets, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia and some Gulf Countries.

The lucrative European, Central Asian and Russian markets have so far remained out of reach, with few exceptions.

The new machine is thought to be the first in the country that will wash and grade the potatoes, preparing them to a standard suitable for international trade.

To have a real impact there will need to be many more such machines imported into the country.

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=105326

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