Pakistan can export up to one million tons of potatoes

Provincial Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Farrukh Javed has said that Pakistan is capable of exporting up to one million tons of potato because of its bumper crop this year. Around 32,000 metric tons of local potato has already been exported to Russia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates so far.

This was stated by the Minister Agriculture while he was presiding over a high level meeting related to Potato Exports in his office here today. The Minister said on the occasion that the Potato growers in Punjab got a bumper crop and its total production had gone to 3.7 million tons. This will reach four million tons with the utmost effort of our farmers. It is 35pc higher than the previous year’s potato production, he added.

The Minister asked the Plant Protection Department to facilitate farmers in getting quality control certificates so more local growers could be accommodated in the export. Dr. Farrukh Javed was briefed about the status of potato export in the meeting. It was told that yesterday 641.7 tons, 88.3 tons, 173 tons, 117.3 tons and 89.5 tons of potatoes have been exported to Russia, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the UAE, respectively. Around 32,000 metric tons of potato has been exported to these countries in current season so far.

Dr. Farrukh Javed, while addressing the meeting, stated that the growers of the region were demanding to fix potato support price otherwise they would have to bear huge losses in the local market because of bumper crop. This was why the government decided to export potato immediately. He said that the government is facilitating local potato growers in getting more orders from international market.