Islamabad:
The banana of Pakistan has increased to an unprecedented level, more than double than in 15 years to reach a record of 317,000 tons in 2024-25, according to the Pakistan Statistics Office (PBS).
The official data available with Pakistan wealth show that banana production was in just 139,000 tons in 2010-11, but constant growth, especially in the last five years, has made it the fastest growing harvest in the country. The most dramatic jump occurred in 2021-22, when production increased from 142,000 tons to 216,000 tons, an increase of more than 50 percent in a single year. The production then rose to 292,000 tons in 2022-23, 311,000 tons in 2023-24, and touched the provisional record of 317,000 tons this season.
This rapid increase marks an important transformation in fruit cultivation, since producers change towards bananas due to strong demand and better yields compared to traditional crops. Waheed Ahmed, head pattern of all exporters of fruit and vegetables of Pakistan, association of importers and merchants, said the growth highlights the export potential of the crop.
However, he pointed out that Pakistan’s participation in world banana trade of $ 14 billion is still insignificant, with exports worth only $ 27.4 million. He urged the creation of a full value chain model that covers the crop, processing, packaging and distribution to reduce subsequent losses to harvest, improve quality and increase farmers’ income. He also requested large -scale corporate farms and modern packages houses to guarantee premium quality bananas for international markets.
Junaid Haider Shah, a producer, exporter and processor based in Sindh, highlighted the economic change driven by new banana varieties. The entrance by acre of the farmers, previously RS150,000 to RS200,000 seven years ago, has now reached almost RS500,000. The new varieties are fungal resistant, they have a longer life and are much more lucrative than the oldest strains.
He said that bananas are now more profitable than mangoes, and exports increase considerably.
