Daily Times

The ongoing excruciating year of 2023 might end on a positive note, after all. With exports to the Middle East bouncing back with a growth of 28.98 per cent, all eyes are perched upon the recently signed free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council to carve a space for Pakistani products in favourable markets.

Calls for a reinvigorated interest in the Middle Eastern economies have been making headlines for quite some time now. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar seemed to passionately buy the prospects of this major breakthrough when he himself planned a week-long visit in November to explore the opportunities and attempt to bring collaborations home.

The much-talked-about Special Investment Facilitation Council follows the same agenda in a bid to divest from the previous mantra of all-eggs-in-one-basket. But while food cooperation is ready to take charge again, Pakistan would do well to remember its own limitations when it comes to living up to its reputation of serving as the food basket. At present, rice and meat products take on the lion’s share of work. The ground realities dictate a need to prioritise the supply of less water-intensive crops like wheat, barley, millet, maize and chickpeas.

Similarly, we can further build upon the framework of livestock farming to not only increase our share of meat exports but to diversify into value-added goods. Not long ago, substandard shipments had resulted in a temporary restriction of fresh meat imports through the sea. Considering the immense potential of trading fresh fruits, vegetables and meat in the immediate neighbourhood, which would not only incur a fraction of transportation costs but also lead to the strengthening of the existing ties, Islamabad would have to first prioritise the prevention of such freak incidents.

Neglect and under-the-table practices cannot and should not be tolerated. SIFC’s focus on corporate farming would be reduced to wishful thinking if the same one-window approach is not applied to the transportation stage. *