An exhibition of Pakistani Kinnoo was organised at Hotel van der Valk, A4 Schiphol by the Commercial Wing of the Embassy of Pakistan on Sunday, February 14^th 2010. The exhibition was first of its kind held in the Netherlands to promote Pakistani citrus in the Netherlands.

Netherlands is known as the gateway to Europe in the trade of fresh fruits and vegetables. Rotterdam is not only the largest seaport of Europe but also has the world’s largest fresh fruits handling facility. The fresh fruits from all across the world come to The Netherlands and then supplied to Europe. 

The Kinnoo Exhibition in Amsterdam is part of the strategy developed by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and Commercial Wing of Pakistan Embassy to capitalize on the strategic strength of Holland in the fresh fruits trade. The objective of the Kinnoo Exhibition was to showcase the Pakistani speciality fruit to the consumers and traders. The leading importers of Pakistani Kinnoo in the Netherlands M/s Super Toko and M/s AZ Enterprises displayed their products during the exhibition. 

The exhibition attracted tremendous response from the buyers, traders and consumers and more than 500 visitors participated in the event. The luscious and delicious Pakistani kinnoo was available for tasting along with the freshly squeezed kinnoo juice. The high level functionaries of the Dutch Government and the members of the diplomatic corps attended the exhibition. The participants appreciated the sweat and soft-textured fruit from Pakistan. “Pakistani kinnoo has a lot of potential to penetrate the market. The importers can earn juicy profits from this juicy mandarin from Pakistan”, said one of the importers visiting the exhibition.

Mr. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Ambassador of Pakistan to The Netherlands speaking on the occasion, said that Kinnoo despite its exotic taste has not been available in the Dutch market so far. “The Embassy has convinced the prominent importers in the Netherlands to import the kinnoo on regular basis and ensure the continuous supplies in the market”, he said. “Besides, promoting our core products like textiles and garments, we are aggressively promoting the non-traditional products e.g. Kinnoo and Mango.”  “The promotion of bilateral trade and investment is amongst the highest priorities of the Embassy. We have planned a series of trade events in 2010 including the Kinnoo Exhibition in February, Seminar on Garments in April, participation in PLMA’s World of Private Label Trade Fair in Amsterdam in May, a Mango Exhibition in July and an event on Home Textiles in September”, he added. He lauded the support provided by TDAP and Ministry of Commerce for the promotion of trade in The Netherlands.

“TDAP and Commercial Wing of Pakistan Embassy have launched an aggressive market penetration strategy for promotion of non-traditional products like citrus in the Benelux market,” said Mr. Ashraf, Commercial Counselor of Pakistan in Holland. “Kinnoo happens to be our only fruit which is available in container-loads, competitively priced and is seaworthy for shipments to Europe. We are trying to take advantage of Kinnoo’s intrinsic strengths as a commercial product.” 

Mr. Bashir Hussain, CEO of Pakistan Horticulture Export and Development Company also participated in the kinnoo exhibition. He promised to provide every possible support to the Commercial Wing of the Embassy for promotion of horticulture products in The Netherlands.