Foodpanda Pakistan has started the export of food items, intending to expand its market share in the Middle East. Although Foodpanda operates in 11 Asian countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Singapore, none of its other branches outside of Pakistan have entered the export sector thus far.
Muntaqa Peracha, CEO of Foodpanda Pakistan said, “Pakistan is the first country within Foodpanda, and might even be within Delivery Hero as well, to start export of fresh products such as fruits, vegetables or meat to any other country.”
The company has partnered with organizations such as Talabat and Hunger Station in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
“We are trying to work with them as well where we can start exporting our products to them. It can eventually scale up [the exports] because if they can start purchasing from us rather than from the local market, it helps their profitability, it helps our profitability, it brings dollars into the country,” he added.
The CEO of FoodPanda Pakistan said that they will achieve the export goal without any funding.
“We’ve established our stations at the vegetable market to purchase. That helps in terms of the quality, it obviously helps in terms of pricing as well, and it helps in terms of our scale. So, we’re using our existing means, we’re not trying to invest further or dilute our profitability.”
Pakistan is facing a significant challenge with foreign exchange reserves, which currently stand at $3.2 billion. This amount is insufficient to cover even one month’s worth of imports. As a result, the government has imposed restrictions on the outflow of the dollar and has banned imports.
In this context, the CEO of Foodpanda stated that exporting would benefit the company by increasing its revenue in dollars. This initiative is positively positioning Pakistan in the Middle Eastern market. He acknowledged that the economic situation is challenging for delivery operators, especially with regard to imported materials.
