KARACHI: The Citrus exporters are keen to tap France after tax waivers granted under the GSP plus, said Ahmad Jawad, former chairman standing committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, while taking to Head of Economic Affairs in embassy of France Eric Noitakis.
Eric Noitakis said that Pakistan can export citrus to France at zero percent import duty under the generalised scheme of preferences (GSP) plus status granted by the European Union (EU). He said the fruits are in good taste and they can be exported to the European country at zero percent duty.
A statement, Jawad said that private sector intends to strengthen Pakistan-France economic ties by facilitating business-to-business contacts and promoting exchange visits.
The second largest European economy has a significant fruits’ consumption volume. However, Pakistan ranks 65 in the list of its trading partners. Their annual bilateral trade amounted to approximately one billion dollars. “This needs to be further increased,” Jawad said.
He said Pakistani mangoes successfully entered the EU markets after compliance with the quarantine requirements of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection. “Now, we are looking forward to kinnow,” he added.
“France has an expertise in agriculture and I think at this time we need transfer of technology to enhance productivity as well as in the value addition sector.”
Jawad said Pakistan’s government will also conduct road shows in Paris in May. “I hope that the event may help in building confidence and encouraging interactions between businessmen of Pakistan and France,” he added.
The country exports kinnow to Russia, UAE, Philippine, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and a few other countries.
Traders slashed their current season kinnow export forecast by 43 percent after climate change destroying crops and decimating yields in the Punjab province. The Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) forecast total harvest of 1.65 million tons this year.
The bad crop will lop nearly $80 million for the value of exports, with the forecaster pegging the value for the year at $120 million. They expect to export around 200,000 tons of kinnow for the season started on December 1, compared with 350,000 exported last year.
