Daily Times

Karachi: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) is calling for the inclusion of agriculture sector in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

FPCCI Regional Standing Committee, Chairman, Ahmad Jawad, said this while pointing out the absence of any governmental strategy with regard to improving the production of crops or directing the exports towards China and Central Asian countries.

He the elaborated on the high potential of kinnows, dates, mangoes, guavas, bananas, green chillies, tomatoes and cauliflower among other fruits and vegetables in the region and emphasised on the need of a long-term plan.

Since Pakistan had already missed its GDP growth target of 5.5 percent in the last fiscal year, the CPEC could be utilised as a unique opportunity to fix its persistent problems in the infrastructure and energy sector and even the agriculture sector, he asserted. Jawad also believed that the challenge of food security was not yet addressed by the present government, further adding that including the agricultural sector to the list of CPEC-related projects would finally prioritise the industry, giving it its due attention.

Pakistan’s membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation would also provide it with an access to a large market for its exports, and also attract investments in the energy and infrastructure sector, Jawad noted. He said, “However, there is a difference between Pakistan gaining new markets for growth, and Pakistani farmers having to exit the market due to Chinese competition on Pakistan soil.”

The chairman elaborated, “It is not clear what the CPEC polices will be if agriculture is included. The gut feeling is that it should be left alone. The corridor is already very intrusive, and there is a clear feeling of dependency on China.” He then asked the government to implement measures to overcome problems being faced by farmers and exporters.

PARC and other research institutes were also asked to apprise the growers regarding the research endeavours taken in other parts of the world, so that the country’s farmers, exporters and economy do not suffer from any losses. Jawad also urged the planning commission to devise a thorough business plan in order to enable the CPEC to open new doors of cooperation in the agriculture sector, which would also help in the transfer of technology pertaining to agro-chemicals, pesticides, seeds and fertilisers.