KARACHI: Fruit exporters, particularly mango traders, faces tough challenges due to the devaluation of pound sterling and euro, abnormal increase in airfreight and high cost of hot water treatment (HWT), said Waheed Ahmed, Chairman of the FPCCI Standing Committee on Fruits & Vegetables Exports & Imports.
Last year, the exporters sustained huge financial losses due to devaluation of the European currencies, he said, and urged the government to give seven percent incentive on invoice value in the forthcoming budget, otherwise it would be an uphill task to remain in the European markets.
Ahmed said that the exporters paid heavy price to render all possible support to the government at a time when it sought help from the exporters to avert likely ban on the import of Pakistani mango by the EU.
However, the federal ministry of commerce and finance did not initiate appropriate steps to support exporters, and last year only 11,000 tonnes of mango could be exported to the UK and EU, while exporters had to bear an additional cost of Rs20-25/kg, he added.
For keeping the professional image of the government intact in the international markets, the exporters sustained financial losses by paying better price of mango to the growers. He suggested the export volume may be restricted to 2,000-3,000 tonnes if the relief package is not extended to the exporters as been promised by the government, which may further widen the trade deficit, Ahmed feared. The participants expressed serious concern over the monopoly by the foreign airlines, different tariff for Pakistan, frequent increase in cargo rates by the shipping companies, wharfage and limitation of adequate space at terminals leading to congestion, harassment of exporters by the Federal Board of Revenue by initiating baseless inquires and issuance of notices to the exporters.
The exporters said the foreign carriers keep increasing their cost of freight on the pretext of freight cost of the PIA and; hence, it is imperative to make a strategy in consultation with the national carrier and ensure enhancement of cargo handling capacity, the exporters added.
It was also suggested that a meeting should also be held with the authorities concerned of the terminals and shipping lines to prevent the shipping lines from charging hidden costs and frequent increase in cargo rates.
An effective monitoring system should also be devised in collaboration with the department concerned and the ministries for strict checks.