Smeda urged to pursue Commerce Ministry for lifting ban on Khaskhas, jaggery

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has requested Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) chief executive officer Hashim Raza to pursue the Ministry of Commerce accept Smeda’s recommendations and allow export of Khashkhas and jaggery to global buyers, a statement said on Tuesday.

Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver said that the SME farmers, processors, exporters and indentors will benefit, as they are losing business, which is going to other countries.

Thaver reiterated that overseas buyers mostly import various commodity items from one shipper and when the exporters fail to provide Khashkhas and gur, they cancel the order for other commodity items, as well.

India and China are both exporting gur and Turkey is exporting Khashkhas (white poppy seeds) and despite having better competitive price and superior qualities of both Pakistan is losing business because of a ban on exports.

The Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has approved the standards for both the commodities and has removed the stigma once and for all on white food grade poppy seeds by declaring it as a food ingredient by virtue of its merits as a culinary and food item.

The Unisame chief said: “We have also sent a proposal to Sauleh Faruqui, federal secretary for commerce, to allow exports of both the commodities under the initiatives of the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood’s creation of export culture for earning more and more foreign exchange.

The Unisame Council also urged PSQCA to reconsider approving standards for hemp to enable the Ministry of Commerce to allow its exports and earn valuable foreign exchange.

The use of hemp has been legalised in many countries of the world, as unharmful mood elevators and if export is allowed it will give occupation and source of income to many farmers, processors and exporters, the council said.

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