Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, announced that the government had approved plans to accelerate the establishment of a Potato Development Council. The new council will be a part of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF).
“Held a fruitful consultative session with the farmers and exporters of potatoes at MOC. We discussed problems facing the exports of potatoes and discussed way forward,” said Abdul Razzak Dawood in a tweet post today
Read more: Pakistan’s exports growing faster than India, Bangladesh post-COVID-19 first wave: Bloomberg.
Pakistan is expected to harvest around three million tons of potato this season against 2.3 million tons last year. After meeting domestic demand of around 1.5 million tons, a surplus of around 1.5 million tons will be available for export.
Pakistan becoming one of the leading potato suppliers.
Pakistan is also becoming one of the leading potato suppliers in the world. Right now, Pakistan Potato exports average around 4 million metric tonnes. This figure is increasing with every passing year. The world is demanding potato from Pakistan because of its unique quality and taste, as per Saremco.
The potato is actually a native vegetable of the South-American region but has since its discovery become a part of staple diets of cultures worldwide.
Held a fruitful consultative session with the farmers and exporters of potatoes at MOC. We discussed problems facing the exports of potatoes and discussed way forward. We agreed to expedite the establishment of a Potato Development Council, under the forthcoming STPF,…1/2
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) December 14, 2020
The potatoes that Pakistan exports are broadly categorized into red-skinned and white-skinned. Several potato varieties have been introduced in Pakistan from time to time, mainly originated from Holland.
Abdul Razak: Potato Development Council to develop a long-term vision
The advisor to Prime Minister Abdul Razak further disclosed that the Potato Development Council is expected to formulate a long-term vision and policy for this sector. “I would soon visit the potato growing areas to meet the farmers and also see the storage facilities,” he said.
Read more: Advisor to Prime Minister Abdul Hafeez sworn in as Federal Minister.
In a Twitter post, Abdul Razzak said the consultative session had been fruitful.
“We discussed problems in exports of mango and discussed the way forward. We agreed to explore establishing cold storage areas on airports and shipping ports,” he said.
Pakistan is ranked sixth in mango production and fifth in mango exporting countries globally, having around a 5 percent share. The country’s mango industry has a volume of Rs100 billion, while millions of people are employed in the industry.
GVS News Desk