Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) asked prime minister to call Cabinet Committee on Agriculture (CCA) meeting and formulate comprehensive polices to uplift textile sector and allocate at least Rs 15 billion for the required infrastructure which was remained neglected.
Member Export ICCI, Ahmad Jawad our agriculture sector was facing huge post-harvest losses of 40-80 percent if compared with global benchmark. Currently, Pakistan’s sugarcane yield was 40 percent lower against global benchmarks, wheat yield was 20 percent lower, non-basmati rice yield was 40 percent lower, cotton yield was 20 percent lower and milk yield per animal was 90 percent lower. Low output also adversely affects the farmers’ earning capability.
to stiff competition in the international markets the surplus stock of wheat could not benefit Pakistan’s exports because of shortage of storage facilities, he warned. Similarly, export of Pakistani dates, with proper processing and packaging, could fetch between $200 million and $240 million per annum. Currently, Pakistan earns around $28 million per annum from dates export because of a lack of infrastructure.
Last year, around 134,000 tonnes of mangoes were exported against the target of 170,000 tonnes out of a total production of 1.7 million tonnes, generating revenue of just $38 million. It could exceed to as much as $100 million but here again the issue of infrastructure is a big impediment, he informed.
He said over the past five years, an average of 2,960 tonnes of apples with a retail value of about Rs 6.7 billion were exported on an annual basis, constituting just 0.5 percent of the total production in Balochistan. ppi
Courtesy Dailytimes
