THE United Arab Emirates stands as one of the world’s most dynamic and demanding food import hubs and a firsthand visit to Dubai’s fresh fruit and vegetable markets recently, coupled with direct feedback from local retail shops, confirms that a major market shift is underway. Consumers and retailers are demanding premium quality, strict food safety and absolute freshness with traceability. Pakistan, a vital agricultural partner to the UAE, possesses an unparalleled variety of microclimates—stretching from the pristine, glacier-fed valleys of Hunza and Gilgit-Baltistan to the sweeping plains of Punjab and Sindh and the rich orchards of Balochistan. This gives our country a continuous, year-round harvest ecosystem that few global competitors can match.
Currently, Pakistan commands a vital 6% to 7% share of the UAE’s fruit and vegetable import market, contributing over $150 million in annual trade. Staples like onions and potatoes form the bedrock of this trade. However, despite our geographical advantage—just three days away by sea and 2 to 3 hours by air cargo—the Pakistan-UAE agro-corridor has historically relied on low-margin commodities. As the UAE shifts towards premium, highly regulated supply chains and the UAE-Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) moves towards full implementation, Pakistan must pivot strategically. To compete with suppliers such as South Africa, Egypt and South America, we must urgently move from a volume-driven model to a quality-led ecosystem based on traceability and compliance.
In my years leading the Department of Plant Protection (DPP), one reality became clear: international agro-trade rejections are rarely caused by unwillingness to comply but by a lack of actionable, localized technical awareness, especially at farm level. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) compliance is the gatekeeper of modern trade. The UAE enforces strict food safety protocols, zero-tolerance policies for specific quarantine pests and rigorous Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for chemical pesticides. When a consignment is rejected at Jebel Ali Port, it causes financial losses, wastes national resources and damages the “Grown in Pakistan” brand. To prevent such failures, we must establish an end-to-end educational framework that translates complex international trade requirements into practical, field-level practices through a shared responsibility framework involving all stakeholders.
At the grassroots level, we must empower our farmers because the foundation of a premium export market is built in the soil. High-level legal text from the WTO SPS Agreement does not protect a crop in the field; simple, visual education does. Our farming organizations and extension departments must teach growers exactly when to stop chemical sprays before harvest — known as the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) — to clear UAE border testing. Simultaneously, farmers must be transitioned away from unhygienic practices. Harvested produce must never touch bare soil and should be collected directly into food-grade plastic crates, while smallholders must be organized into export clusters to make the cost of achieving Global G.A.P. certification financially viable.
At the enterprise level, our exporters and packing house operators must move away from reactive crisis management and institutionalize preventative compliance. Packing houses must achieve international safety certifications. Installing rapid blast-chillers to remove field heat within hours of harvest can extend a product’s retail shelf life by a vital 7 days, which must be paired with logistics providers ensuring that Refrigerated Containers (Reefers) are pre-cooled to precise target temperatures before loading. To secure end-to-end traceability, utilizing compliant QR codes on every master carton will allow UAE inspectors to instantly verify a shipment’s farm of origin, processing batch and phytosanitary clearance.
At the policy level, ministries, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), DPP and the heavily paid PSW (Pakistan Single Window) must actively collaborate to build an institutional “Green Channel” that reduces trade friction. Fast-track implementation of Electronic Phytosanitary (e-Phyto) exchange systems, linking Pakistan’s regulatory bodies directly with the UAE’s federal MOCCAE ZAD portal is to be prioritized. Digitizing these credentials allows paperwork to be audited and approved before a vessel ever leaves Karachi ports. Furthermore, a centralized, public-private National SPS Helpdesk must be formed to update exporters in real time regarding shifting Gulf and others, standards, pesticide regulations on MRL and upcoming international trade opportunities.
The path forward lies in capturing premium retail value. By aligning our agricultural practices with strict export and retail compliance frameworks, Pakistani agro-enterprises can bypass traditional wholesale middlemen at open markets like Dubai’s Al Aweer. Instead, we can secure direct corporate supply contracts with premium UAE hypermarket chains like Lulu, Carrefour and Spinneys. To command the premium prices our produce genuinely deserves, we must move away from generic, unbranded white-box packaging. By showcasing our unique microclimates under premium, localized brands—such as “Glacier-Fed Hunza Apricots” or “Sun-Ripened Indus Valley Mangoes”—we can change market perceptions. The geographic proximity is ours, the microclimates are ours, exporters have potential and through a coordinated, nation-wide commitment to SPS education, Pakistan can decisively turn its agricultural potential into global market dominance.
—The writer is former Director General DPP, Government of Pakistan.
