Daily Times

LAHORE: Argentina wants to make its trade and economic ties with Pakistan stronger.

Pakistani businessmen should establish partnerships with their counterparts in the fields of Agriculture and Livestock, where huge opportunities are available. These views were expressed by deputy head of the Commercial Section Guido Maiulini and Head of the Consular Section, Embassy of Argentina Maria Carmela Mirabelli, while talking to Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Abdul Basit, here at the LCCI.

The Argentinean delegation shed light on a number of issues hampering the bilateral trade between the two countries and forwarded various proposals to give boost to two-way trade. They said that Argentina could extend technical assistance to Pakistan in the agriculture field.

The LCCI president said that agriculture sector of Pakistan continues to be the single largest and dominant driving force for growth as well as the main source of livelihood for 66 per cent of Pakistan’s population. It has a lot of potential to grow but due to lack of required resources, knowledge, experience and technology, it is battling hard to survive.

He said that the concept of corporate farming is picking up in Pakistan but its proportion is too small to make any impact on the performance of this sector. Similarly, the percentage of per acre production in agriculture sector is at lower side as compared to other countries. Around 40 per cent of our agri-produce is wasted in the form of post-harvest losses due to lack of preservation and transportation facilities.

“We know that with the help of required technology and knowledge, this sector can be transformed into a high yielding industry. The economy of Argentina is twice the size of Pakistan economy and it is ranked among the world’s major agriculture producers,” the LCCI president said and added that Argentina and Pakistan had many things in common as both countries are known for cash and food crops all over the world.

He said that if we could succeed in developing across border network among the key players of this sector then both Argentina and Pakistan can attain win-win situation. LCCI Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said that Embassy of Argentina can become a reliable source of disseminating trade related information to curtail communication gap. He said closer interaction between the chambers of the two countries can be highly beneficial.