Potato exports likely to suffer due to smog, webinar told
Potato exports are likely to fall during the current fiscal year because smog has led to a 20 per cent decline in per acre production in Punjab, a webinar was told on Wednesday. The webinar, conducted by the Pakistan Horticulture Development Export Company (PHDEC), aimed to explore the consequences of climate change on potato crop and to suggest measures for combating its impact on productivity and quality. Due to the low crop yield, the country’s potato export fell to $127 million in 2023-24 — a decline of 40 per cent from $212m in 2022-23. The total production of potato stands at 8.3m tonnes in the country. The major production zone lies in Punjab’s Sahiwal and Okara districts.