The fruit and vegetable exporters of Pakistan are raising alarm bells over a looming food crisis as the metals keep melting over the relentless climate change, according to them. For safeguarding and improving local growth, it has joined a global forum to attract foreign investment.
At a recent signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) & V20 and the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA), Waheed Ahmed, the association’s Patron-in-Chief, expressed grave concerns. “I am seeing a major food crisis in Pakistan in 2025-26 if the threat from climate change is left unattended to,” he warned.
Ahmed said that Pakistan, which was a net exporter of such staple foods as onions and tomatoes, has now turned into an importer because of the adverse climate change. He mentioned that the orchards of citrus fruits and mangoes are suffering greatly due to global warming, after the recent devastation of banana crops.
The food shortage is not only hampering exports but also failing to meet domestic demand, exacerbating food insecurity in the country. Ahmed criticized the government for allocating almost no funds in the 2024-25 budget to combat greenhouse gas emissions, leaving the agriculture sector vulnerable and endangering millions of jobs.
In a meeting with the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, association members said the immediate requirement of funds to reduce the climate change effects. Research institutions in Pakistan, Ahmed said, cannot develop climate-resilient seeds to enhance food production up to international standards. Authorities, he suggested, should seek help from China, which has excelled in the production of food and climate adaptation.
Horticulture exports of Pakistan have also remained stuck at $750-800 million per annum due to old seeds, particularly of citrus fruits, as Kinnow exports have dropped to $100 million this year from $220 million last year, and the output of mango has fallen 35 percent to 1.20 million tons that has badly hurt exports.
On this, Hamza Haroon, the CVF and V20 Director for South Asia, highlighted that Pakistan had joined the forum in 2021, while the very recent MoU with PFVA was inked to galvanize global resources to fight global warming by protecting the agrarian sector. He said that the forum works globally with climate-vulnerable nations to transform them into climate-prosperous states along the lines of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Haroon revealed that the forum had succeeded in mobilizing $600 million worth of carbon swaps for Ghana and taken similar initiatives in Sri Lanka. The MoU with PFVA now opens the way for similar investments in Pakistan.
The looming threat of a food crisis in Pakistan calls for a collaboration of global forums and the chase for foreign investments to sustain its agricultural future.