By Syed Mussarat Khalil
JEDDAH — Pakistan Consul General Shehryar Akbar Khan opened the Pakistani Kinnow (Citrus) promotional week at Manuel Supermarket, Star Avenue Mall here on Thursday.
Commercial Consular Shehzad Ahmed at the consulate general Pakistan welcomed the guests and invited them for the ribbon and cake cutting ceremony.
In his brief address, Shehryar Akbar Khan said Pakistan is the sixth largest producer of Kinnow and oranges in the world, with around 2 million tons produce and having a large number of farms which are processing the fruit according to global standards.
With a juice yield of 55% and containing a nice and delicate aroma, Kinnow is regarded as one of the juiciest mandarin in the world, he added.
He said the objective of the event was to organize an interactive campaign at point of sale (POS) to introduce Pakistani Kinnow to the Saudi consumers.
Khan appreciated the partnership between the Al-Rafique Enterprises, management of Manuel supermarket and the commercial section of the consulate for holding such a successful event.
He thanked Manuel Supermarket for hosting the event to promote Kinnow in the Kingdom. Abdulelah Al Darwish, Chairman; Khalid Al Darwish, CEO of Manuel Supermarket, presented him a memento.
Speaking to the Saudi Gazette at the occasion, Mazen Baterjee said the relationship between the government and citizens of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is brotherly and exceptional.
We know the support which Pakistan gave for the development of Saudi Arabia in many fields and we appreciate this, he said.
He added “today we saw the quality of the Pakistani citrus. Really impressed with the taste and the juice-yield of Pakistani Kinnow.”
Batterjie said there is a strong improvement in trade of fruit and vegetables from Pakistan due to the variety of produce and competitive prices.
He said JCCI is encouraging and supporting such initiatives and assured complete support for activities planned by the Consulate of Pakistan to promote bilateral trade and investment.
Consul Generals for US, France, Philippines, South Korea, head of trade wings of UK, France, South Korea and the Philippines, Abdulelah Al Darwish chairman, and Khalid Al Darwish, CEO of Manuel Supermarket, Secretary General of JCCI, Head of Food and Fruit Committee of JCCI, along with members of the committee Hassan Hassanein, general manager; and Tariq Shabbir, financial manager, Movenpick, leading businessmen of Saudi Arabia in with food sector, and significant numbers of Saudi and Pakistani community members attended the event.
The weeklong event includes in-store promotion and display of Kinnow. Kinnow would be sold out from all the stores of Manuel Supermarket at promotional rates during their business timing. In addition to that it would also be available in regular buffet display of Movenpick Hotel and Marahaba Hotels in Jeddah. — SG
