KARACHI: Pakistan’s first international date festival and exhibition to promote production and export of dates and value-added products in Pakistan begins on Friday at Expo Center Karachi. The festival and exhibition is organized by the Ministry of National Food Security and Trade Research and Development Authority of Pakistan in collaboration with the UAE Embassy in Pakistan and the Khalifa International Award for Date and Agricultural Innovation. In addition to local date palm growers and processors, 150 delegates from 8 different countries attended the festival and exhibition. Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi, NFSR Federal Secretary Ali Tahir, TDAP Executive Director Zubair Motiwala and Secretary General Khalifa International Award Dr. Abdel Wahhab Zaid cut the ribbon and opened the two-day festival and exhibition. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori termed the festival as a reflection of the friendly ties between Pakistan and the UAE and said that it will not only open new avenues of sharing and cooperation for the two brotherly countries but also help. in the promotion of Pakistani dates. He said that there is a huge potential for Pakistani dates in the global market and full access of Pakistani dates to the global market could bring valuable foreign exchange to the country. Emphasizing unity and cooperation among Muslim countries, Tessori said that these countries have huge capital, resources and power and can get their due share in international trade through unity, coordination and joint efforts. The governor emphasized the need for commercial plantations, reduction of post-harvest losses, value addition and provision of technical assistance to farmers to increase production as well as export of dates. He urged local growers, manufacturers and exporters to tap into the technical expertise of UAE friends. In his speech, Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah said that Pakistan was ranked fifth in date cultivation and production where date palm was cultivated on 252,000 acres while date production remained over 730,000 tons in 2022. Sindh is the leading producer of dates, contributing more than 57% to the total national production, while Khairpur is a major data center producing more than 300 unique varieties, Murad Shah said, adding that a research center has been set up at Kot Deeji. Training programs for Khairpur growers have already been organized in the city and 8 solar gas hybrid driers and 35 tunnel driers have been installed to produce quality dates. A project to introduce palm cultivation in the Thar desert has been launched for which date palm cultivation models have been obtained from the Gulf countries, he said, hoping that tissue culture technology will play a key role in accelerating the spread of these excellent varieties. The Ministry of National Food Security and Research and the Pakistan Council of Agricultural Research worked on the project and after evaluating 38 different date varieties, 8 were recommended for large-scale cultivation, while PARC also worked on improving post-harvest processing and value addition. Murad Shah added. UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Al-Zaabi said the unique festival reflects the commitment of both countries to develop agriculture, increase agricultural production and ensure food security. The UAE and Pakistan are working together to promote agricultural production and exports through the promotion of modern technology and strengthening bilateral relations in the agricultural sector, he said, hoping that the festival would boost Pakistan’s date exports and contribute significantly to the national economy. Federal Secretary MNFS&R Ali Tahir while reading a message from Federal Minister for NFS&R Rana Tanveer Hussain said that date palm is an important part of our agriculture and the festival will play an important role in the development of this industry. He emphasized the need to embrace advances in science and technology, share information, sensitize farmers to modern agricultural techniques and address the consequences of climate change. CE TDAP, Zubair Motiwala, highlighted the potential of Pak-UAE collaboration in tissue culture research and value addition of Date Palm and invited UAE investors to invest and create value-added joint ventures. Secretary General Khalifa International Award, Abdel Wahhab Zaid, UAE Consul General Karachi Bakhit Ateeq Alroumethi also said on the occasion that the UAE is determined to expand cooperation with Pakistan in all sectors. Later, Sindh Governor and CM accompanied by UAE diplomats awarded certificates and prizes to the best date palm growers and processors. There are also various stands at the exhibition.
