Muhammad Luqman

The Punjab government has requested the federal government to remove export duties and taxes and provide an additional 25% freight subsidy on potato and kinnow exports, which have recently been allowed to move through Iran to Central Asian countries. In a letter addressed to Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanvir Hussain, Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani emphasized the need for aggressive marketing campaigns in East Asian, Middle Eastern, and African markets to secure import orders for Pakistani products, particularly potatoes and kinnows.

He said the move is essential to facilitate growers who are currently facing difficulties in obtaining fair returns for their produce. The minister also urged the federal government to ensure the early issuance of export permits and improve the efficiency of quarantine clearance procedures. He noted that issues at the Department of Plant Protection (DPP), Karachi, could be resolved by assigning experienced professionals to manage the situation, supervise consignments to new markets, and maximize loading in existing markets.

He further proposed the establishment of a Joint Coordination Committee comprising the officials from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R), the Ministry of Commerce, relevant federal ministries, and provincial departments. The committee would share daily market intelligence, price trends, and export data, including trade via Iran. Warning about the gravity of the situation, Kirmani said the crisis could affect more than 1.7 million acres and over 350,000 farmers across nearly 10 districts, posing a serious risk of unrest, particularly in major potato-growing regions.

According to potato growers, the per-acre cost of potato cultivation is around Rs300,000, but returns have declined sharply this year as prices have dropped to Rs550 per 50-kilogram bag. “The return is not meeting even 20% of the total production cost,” said Chaudhary Maqsood Ahmad Jutt, Chairman of the Potato Growers Society. He added that even growers who stored potatoes in cold storage are suffering, as storage rent in many cases exceeds the market price of the produce itself.

Jutt attributed the crisis to overproduction, stating that potato output reached 18 million tons this year against the government’s estimated demand of 12 million tons. “About one million tons of potatoes were exported last year,” he noted. He said the federal government’s approval of alternative export routes through Iran would not yield meaningful results unless logistics costs are addressed. “The per-container transportation cost has surged to $13,000 from $4,000, making exports unviable for growers and exporters unless the government shares the transportation cost,” he said.

Fruit and vegetable exporters have also demanded a freight subsidy and the waiver of the one percent withholding tax to support exports. “This year, there is a global glut in potato production, leading to stiff competition from countries such as India, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia,” said Waheed Ahmad, former chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association. He identified the closure of Pak-Afghan trade as a major contributing factor to the crisis, noting that nearly half of Pakistan’s potato exports previously went to Afghanistan and Central Asian states.

“Now we need to diversify geographical destinations for potatoes,” he added. Meanwhile, farmers’ organizations have blamed excessive government intervention in agricultural marketing for growers’ woes. “The government should focus on regulation rather than continuous intervention,” said Ebadur Rehman Khan, Director of Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP).

Credit: INP-WealthPk