In a major step to curb the flooding of imported agricultural commodities in Pakistan, especially the vegetables and fruits, the Department of Plant Protection Department (DPP) has issued letters to the Ministry of Interior, the Balochistan Government and other authorities concerned to stop the import of food items without an approval from the DPP.
Official sources at DPP told Pakistan Today that the department has issued letters to Secretary Ministry of Interior and Chief Secretary Balochistan to disallow imports from Iran, Afghanistan and India without due certification by DPP. All imports of agricultural items are illegal if the importing goods are not certified by the department.
The step was reportedly taken after complaints from local growers that the imported food items flooding the local market were not only causing them losses financially, but the import of poor quality produce was also risking the domestic crop.
“The neighbouring countries, from which the fruits/vegetable are either being smuggled or imported without meeting quarantine rules, hardly allows Pakistani products to enter their territory, with various excuses as justification,” Director General DPP Waseemul Hassan said.
Talking to Pakistan Today, he said that unchecked imports/smuggling of fruits and vegetables from Taftan border is affecting 95 per cent people of Balochistan, whose prime occupation is agriculture. These fruits and vegetables include apples, grapes, onions and dates. Iranian traders are only paying 5 per cent to enter Pakistan through Afghanistan. “We cannot export a single kinnow to Iran without the approval of and the lifting of the ban imposed by the Iranian authority, however, Iranian apple was everywhere in the local market here,” added.
Though the volume of imports from Afghanistan and India are lesser as compared to Iran, steps were also being taken to disallow unchecked imports from these neighbouring countries.
“It will be very unfortunate if we continue importing even that which is abundantly produced or grown in our agriculture-driven country,” the DG opined, saying that the government needed to protect the local market and growers first. “The most dangerous element of unchecked import is risking the local crop and produce to various diseases and pests from the untreated fruit being smuggled or imported,” he said.
According to him, the strict implementation of quarantine rules was needed as exotic pests can cause colossal losses to our crop wealth. A number of foreign pests entered the subcontinent in the early twenties because of the inadequate quarantine control. Pakistan is the gateway between insect fauna of two different zoogeographic regions and hence movement of pest from one region to another can cause unprecedented damage. Besides, Pakistan’s climate provides ideal conditions for the development of some foreign pests and diseases.
Last month, the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce had invited the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to explain the situation arising out of unchecked smuggling of a number of products from neighbouring countries.
The Senate Commerce Committee met with Shibli Faraz in the chair who observed that smuggling of fruits, vegetables and other items from Iran and Afghanistan was the result of the inefficiency of the Pakistan Customs Department. Therefore, the FBR must explain the situation before the committee in next meeting.
The committee formed a sub-committee to look into the loss inflicted on the local farmers living in areas adjacent to Afghan and Iranian borders, demanding report in two weeks’ time.
According to statistics, Pakistan has previously been importing vegetables and other small items worth over Rs25bn.
