Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) anticipates losses of $100-150 million in fruit and vegetable exports as flood-hit fields will require time to recover. Talking to Wealth Pakistan, Waheed Ahmed, PFVA Patron-in-Chief, said fruit and vegetable exports stood at $750 million last year.

Therefore, he urged the government to declare the latest wave of floods a national emergency as the destruction of crops and orchards threatens both rural livelihoods and the country’s food security.

Waheed cautioned that failure to act would leave Pakistan’s rural economy at the mercy of recurring floods. “Each year of inaction means fields will go barren and orchards will be destroyed, pushing farmers into great distress. What is needed today is decisive action because this is far beyond an ordinary calamity. It is a climate crisis that demands immediate and sweeping action,” he emphasised.

Waheed warned that the devastation cannot be measured by the loss of one season harvest because it takes years to establish orchards, and when they are wiped out, farmers are forced to start from nothing. “The state must step in with direct financial relief to help families survive the present emergency, otherwise rural communities will face not just food shortages but the danger of economic ruin,” he stressed.

The PFVA chief proposed multiple measures to restore farmers’ trust, including providing zero-interest credit, expanding state grants to support orchard replanting, and initiating community-led watershed programmes aimed at soil protection, reforestation, and improved drainage systems.

Waheed pointed to India’s rollout of crop insurance, satellite-based flood defences, and cash support schemes. “Pakistan should move quickly to introduce comparable measures,” he stressed.

Pakistan has already incurred losses worth billions of dollars, with the impact expected to deepen food security concerns. The PFVA chief warned that agriculture, dairy, livestock, and major crops such as rice, wheat, and sugarcane, along with vegetable production may face serious setbacks.

“The production and export of kinnow may also suffer, as stagnant floodwaters heighten the risk of crop diseases.” He further noted that prices of imported commodities such as ginger and garlic, unrelated to floods, have risen sharply, and urged authorities to prevent unjustified hikes.

Underscoring the urgency of infrastructure upgrades, Waheed urged authorities to fast-track long-stalled projects. “Headworks and dams have been identified for years as vital safeguards, yet they remain unrealised while recurring monsoon floods wreak havoc.”  He emphasised that work on these essential structures must start immediately because every postponement costs lives, destroys harvests, and drains the economy of billions.

He also emphasised the importance of shifting to climate-resilient agriculture as relying only on vulnerable seasonal crops is no longer sustainable for Pakistan. “Perennial orchards, especially mango, withstand harsh weather more effectively than short-duration crops. Providing incentives for orchard farming can help secure farmers’ livelihoods while ensuring long-term food security,” he noted.

Credit: INP-WealthPk