‘Poor storage costs Pakistan on maize exports’
Pakistan’s non-GMO maize is being sold 10–15% below international benchmarks due to poor drying, storage and handling. LDC has opened a 40,000-tonne Multan grain facility to improve quality, reduce post-harvest losses and strengthen Pakistan’s export competitiveness.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s non-GMO maize should command a premium in international markets, but poor post-harvest handling is forcing exporters to sell it at a discount of 10-15 per cent, global agri-merchant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has said.
Speaking to senior journalists at LDC’s Karachi office, Muhammad Danyal, country head for Pakistan and head of grains and oilseeds, said the quality gap stems mainly from high moisture content and impurities caused by inadequate drying and storage at the farm level.
“Pakistan produces non-GMO maize which globally fetches a premium. But because we lack proper drying, storage and handling at farm level, foreign buyers pay 10-15 per cent less than the benchmark,” Danyal said, adding that fixing harvesting, drying, storage and marketing could earn the country hundreds of millions of rupees more from the same crop.
To address the issue, LDC has inaugurated its first owned industrial operation in Pakistan, a 40,000 MT grain storage facility in Multan.
The facility sits on 22.5 acres, with 10 acres currently developed, and is located close to Punjab’s farming belt, the country’s main wheat and maize producing region. It will primarily support in-house consumption and reduce reliance on third-party storage that often lacks climate control.
Danyal said better storage at source helps preserve quality from the outset, adding that losses drop when grain is placed in facilities with proper aeration and moisture management immediately after harvest.
The investment marks a shift for LDC in Pakistan. For more than 15 years the company has traded cotton, rice, sugar, pulses, oilseeds and grains, with a strong position in wheat, but the Multan project is its first owned asset in the country.
Danyal said Pakistan can improve both food security and export competitiveness if storage, transport and on-farm practices are upgraded together, and that direct procurement from Punjab will help stabilise prices and reduce post-harvest losses that currently erode farmer incomes.
Founded in 1851, LDC operates across the agricultural value chain in more than 100 countries and estimates it helps feed and clothe 500 million people annually.
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Source : International The News
