Food prices can be curtailed by facilitating imports: FPCCI

KARACHI: The food prices can be curtailed if imports of the same are facilitated, an official said.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo emphasised that tea prices can be quickly curtailed if imports are facilitated directly from Tanzania, which is a major producer of tea in the world.

Pakistan should explore every possible avenue to control food inflation and tea is one of the major food items fuelling inflation, as it is dependent on imports heavily.

Maggo said that it is perturbing to note that currently only 2 per cent of tea is being imported from Tanzania directly and pricing pressures in Kenyan tea markets are causing an added strain to foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan and exchange range volatility, which is adding up to the miseries of importers and general public alike.

Hanif Lakhany, vice president of the FPCCI, apprised the Pakistani exporters of the potential to export a number of products to Tanzania in large quantities e.g., value-added textiles, pharmaceuticals, surgical goods, sports goods, fruits and vegetables and plastic ware.

Zeeshan Maqsood, convener of the FPCCI’s Standing Committee on Tea Trade, said that Pakistan imports a huge amount of around 240 million kilogrammes of tea annually and Tanzanian share is only 3.5 million kilogrammes.

Pakistan is a $600 million tea market and Tanzania stands to benefit a lot from getting a share out of it, he added.

Jacqueline Mkindi, CEO of Tanzania Horticulture Association, led the delegation and invited the Pakistani traders to explore the opportunities in textiles, pharmaceuticals, gemstones, minerals and fruits and vegetables.

The FPCCI considers the current trade volume of approximately $220 million with Tanzania too short of the real potential and considers the psychological mark of $1 billion achievable within a short span of two to three years.