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Pakistan's fruit exports are up 68.69 per cent for the first half of the financial year, while vegetable exports are up by 117.54 per cent, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics.

From the period between July and December, 292,578 tonnes of fruit were shipped at a value of US$116.11m. For the same period in the 2008/09 financial year, 179,399 tonnes of fruit were exported worth US$68.83m to the country's coffers.

Around 141,900 tonnes of vegetables were exported during the first six months of current financial year, a huge increase on the 62,967 tonnes shipped in the same period of 2008/09.

Pakistan's key export markets for its fresh produce are the Middle East, especially countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Europe, Pakissan.com reported.