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ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (APP):Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Tuesday said that 79 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth $4.5 billion were signed between Pakistani and Chinese companies during the Pakistan-China Agri-Investment Conference.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said the conference aimed at promoting investment partnerships in Pakistan’s agriculture and food sectors and to facilitate business-to-business engagement between companies from both countries.
He said the forum also sought to showcase Pakistan’s investment potential, agricultural value chains and policy reforms introduced by the current government, while strengthening institutional linkages between the public and private sectors.
Rana Tanveer Hussain informed that 116 Chinese and 165 Pakistani companies were invited to the conference, adding that the event enabled direct engagement between private sector entities, promoted targeted investment in priority agriculture sub-sectors and supported technology transfer, value addition and supply chain development.
The minister said a special wing had been established in the ministry for swift implementation of the signed MoUs, adding that an agriculture wing would also be set up at Pakistan’s Embassy in China to further promote bilateral agri-cooperation.
Highlighting the importance of agriculture in national economic development, he said the sector contributed about 26 percent to GDP, with the livestock segment accounting for around 60 percent of total agricultural output.
He said agriculture remained a top priority under the Prime Minister’s economic reform agenda and, following economic revival, the government was focusing on agriculture development to achieve sustainable growth. The minister added that the Prime Minister was keen to adopt the Chinese agriculture development model, noting that the current conference was a continuation of similar forums held last year.
Rana Tanveer Hussain said economic growth and development were directly linked to agriculture, which also played a critical role in boosting exports. He said the government had introduced several reforms to ensure certified seed availability and smooth supply of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides to enhance per-acre yields.
He said the regulatory framework had also been strengthened to improve agricultural exports, adding that export interceptions by importing countries had declined from 377 to 36 due to these measures.
On input availability, the minister said surplus fertilizer stocks of over 900,000 tonnes were currently available at affordable prices, adding that smooth input supplies had resulted in surplus harvests of rice, maize and potatoes during the current season.
He said wheat sowing had witnessed a significant increase this season, adding that the government had fixed the wheat procurement price for strategic reserves at Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms to ensure adequate returns for farmers.
The minister said sufficient wheat stocks were available for domestic consumption and the government was ready to supply wheat to provinces to meet their requirements and ensure affordable flour prices in local markets.
Replying to a question, he said a decline in international prices of agricultural commodities was the main reason behind reduced exports of local agro-products such as rice, adding that a mechanism was being devised to enhance exports of rice, meat and other products.
He added that the government was also working to reduce the import bill of agro-based commodities, including edible oil, by promoting cultivation of oilseeds such as sunflower and canola.