LAHORE: Despite being among the world’s largest producers of citrua, Pakistan is set to export only 400,000-450,000 tonnes of kinno during the 2025-26 season, well below its estimated potential of 700,000-800,000 tonnes, as growers and exporters struggle with high freight costs, border restrictions and the absence of effective government facilitation.
During the 2024-25 season, kinno exports stood at around 350,000-400,000 tonnes, with Russia, Indonesia, the UAE, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Central Asian states as major destinations. For the current season, a slight improvement is expected due to better fruit size and quality in Sargodha and adjoining areas, but structural issues continue to cap growth.
Former MPA and large kinno orchard owner Faisal Cheema said the crisis has deepened despite an excellent crop. “By the grace of God, this year’s kinno crop is outstanding in both quantity and quality, but it has become a pattern that whenever the crop is good, it goes to waste. The Afghan border issue has been hurting us for the last couple of years, while the recent goods transporters’ strike caused further damages as we failed to meet some export orders due to unavailability of reefer containers,” he said.
Market prices have collapsed sharply during the season and orchard owners, out of panic, are selling their produce at whatever price is being offered. At the start of packing for Dubai exports, large size kinno fetched Rs120-125 per kg and smaller fruit Rs90-95 per kg, rates that held until Nov 30. By Dec 10, prices fell to Rs100 per kg for large fruit and Rs70 per kg for small. Between Dec 10 and 15, factories sold large fruit at Rs85-90 per kg and small at Rs55-60 per kg. After Dec 15, the situation became alarming, with factories offering barely Rs75 per kg for large fruit and Rs35-40 per kg for small — despite near-total buyer apathy.
Kabul border dispute and unstable markets put citrus sector at risk
According to industry estimates, traders are selling kinno to factories at Rs1,400-1,500 per maund, while factories have cut packing speeds drastically, daily operations halved from ten to five pickings causing repeated topping of orchards and severe damage to trees.
Sajid Tarar, a former president of the Sargodha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned that border closures have brought the export chain to a standstill. “Over 100 factories did not open at all due to the Afghan border issue. Of the remaining units, most were already operating at around half capacity, and now closures are accelerating. Nearly 50 units are shut, with many more on the brink,” he said, cautioning that up to 800,000 workers could face unemployment if the crisis persists.
In a hint to the disturbing Afghan market, he said that some fruit had been going to Afghanistan through Iran, but the tensions on borders created a hostile atmosphere in Afghanistan against Pakistani products and a consignment of bananas was damaged by some people in the markets there.
Cold storages across Sargodha are reported to be 80-90 per cent full, putting kinnow worth millions of dollars at risk of spoilage. Growers fear losses of Rs8-10 billion, with ripple effects likely to hit future crops, including wheat and sugarcane, due to shrinking farm resources.
Stakeholders have urged the government to take immediate action by finding alternative international markets and routes for fruits, subsidising logistics, resolving border issue, and supporting exporters. “Saving kinno exports means saving farmers — and strengthening the national economy,” Faisal Cheema emphasised.
Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025
