During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total vegetable exports increased by 90% in quantity and 57% in value thanks to brisk potato shipments that countered the downward trend in onion exports caused by massive crop loss in Sindh and Balochistan.
According to figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, total vegetable exports from July to October were 378,826 tonnes and brought in $107 million, up from 199,119 tonnes and $68 million in 4MFY22.
Despite receiving low prices on the international markets, exporters went above and above to deliver massive vegetable shipments. The average price per tonne of local vegetables sold for $284 in 4MFY23 as opposed to $342 in the same period, despite a positive amount of exports.
In FY22, the earnings from vegetable exports of 937,203 tonnes were $310m as against $319m from 950,369 tonnes in FY21, showing a drop of 1.39pc in quantity and 3pc in value.
Waheed Ahmed, President of the All Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association, stated that vegetables are exported each year based on their availability, although potatoes and onions account for a significant portion. “A bumper potato crop has proven to be very helpful in balancing the declining onion exports.
Floods in Sindh and Balochistan this year have ruined onion harvests, preventing bulk shipments to various nations, which is a shame because otherwise, overall export numbers would be more spectacular,” he said.
He claimed that the majority of the potato shipments were going to Iraq, the Middle East, the Far East, and CIS nations.
As per the Survey of FY22, potato production soared to 7.937m tonnes in FY22 from 5.873m tonnes in FY21, up by 35pc as floods did not hit Punjab which is a hub of the country’s potato production.
As a result, imports of tomatoes and onions were mobilized a few months ago to close the supply and demand gap, but they were unable to halt the upward price trend due to the high-profit margins retailers demanded and currency fluctuations.
Customers now pay Rs180–200 per kg for onions, compared to Rs70–80 in the first week of July, and Rs40–60 for old potatoes, compared to Rs80. When the crop first hit the market 15 days ago, the new potato price was Rs130, but it had since dropped to Rs80.
