Measuring Pakistan’s Citrus Exports Competitiveness A Cross-country Comparison

Abstract

This research examines competitiveness of Pakistan’s export using secondary data from 2003 to 2023, divided into three sub periods. Trade indicators, such as the share of exports in domestic production, export unit value realization, and revealed comparative advantage (RCA), were analyzed and compared with those of six major citrus exporters. Pakistan exports 13.2 percent of domestic citrus production, showing an upward trend, though still behind South Africa (71%)  (57.6%), Morocco (33.6%), and Turkey (32.6%). China has the lowest share (3.5 %). The Netherlands has the highest overall export unit value realization, whereas Pakistan’s remains the lowest among competitors. RCA results confirm Pakistan’s comparative advantages in citrus with consistent growth across all sub-periods. Citrus commodity-level results revealed that Pakistan’s international competitiveness was concentrated entirely in Tangerines, Mandarins, Clementines, and satsumas (Locally known as Kinnow in Pakistan). In this citrus category, Pakistan is the third-most competitive exporter, after Morocco and Spain. This fact underlines the strong specialization in kinnow variety. The result also highlights that Pakistan lacks international competitiveness in oranges and lemon/limes reflecting structural weaknesses in the production and export value chain. There is a need to enhance citrus competitiveness by addressing production gaps, promoting value addition, and expanding access to high- end export markets.