ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed expanding agricultural exports to China — including tropical fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops — as the two countries signed over two dozen agriculture sector memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth more than $4 billion, the Ministry of National Food Security said on Saturday.
The MoUs were reached at a business-to-business (B2B) investment conference held in Beijing on September 4, during the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
“Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain attended the Pak-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing, where more than two dozen Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth over $4 billion were signed in the agriculture sector,” the statement said.
“Highlighting China’s $215 billion annual agricultural import market, Hussain said Pakistan can play a significant role in supplying tropical and temperate fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops,” the ministry said in a statement.
“He stressed that Pakistan, as China’s closest neighbor and a ‘brotherly country,’ offers geographical proximity and competitive pricing advantages compared to imports from Brazil and other Western countries,” it added.
It added that during the meetings, the minister invited Chinese companies to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture sector with a focus on mechanization, seed development, smart farming, and precision agriculture for data-driven productivity gains.
He underlined that these areas are crucial for strengthening Pakistan’s food security while opening new avenues for bilateral cooperation.
Islamabad is preparing to issue Panda Bonds in China’s capital market as part of efforts to strengthen its financial position. The initiative by the Ministry of National Food Security underscores the government’s broader strategy to tap into one of the region’s largest markets, aligning with its shift toward export-led economic growth.
