Promotional event for Pakistani dates held by High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo

The High Commission of Pakistan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), organised a promotional event for Pakistani dates (fruit) exports in Sri Lanka, at the High Commission in Colombo recently.

In his remarks, High Commissioner of Pakistan Maj. Gen (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak highlighted the Government of Pakistan’s policy of introducing non-traditional products such as dates through a diversified marketing approach. While underscoring the importance of consuming dates due to their innumerable health benefits, the High Commissioner urged Sri Lankan importers and businesspersons to choose Pakistan as their primary destination for sourcing high-quality dates at competitive prices.

Trade and Investment Attaché Asmma Kamal also delivered a detailed presentation on Pakistan’s date sector and its export potential. She highlighted that Pakistan is ranked at 6th position in dates production with an annual production of around 540,000 and is ranked 8th for dates exports, in the world. She further underlined the ongoing efforts for promotion of Pakistani dates by TDAP and the High Commission in Colombo, which has resulted in a sharp uptick in export volume to Sri Lanka in the year 2020. 

The event saw active participation from leading importers of dates, as well as Government officials from Department of Commerce and Export Development Board in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner presented Pakistani date samples to the participants, who were also served with a variety of delicacies made with Pakistani dates, including milk shakes, vermicelli pudding (sheer khurma), dates energy balls with nuts and date cakes. The participants greatly admired the taste and quality of dates from Pakistan and the traditional hospitality of the High Commission.