Pakistan's exports have great potential, and there is great potential in agricultural textiles and other areas. I have read an article and translated part of it.
In the field of olive oil, Spain is a well-deserved "kingdom of olive oil", producing about 1.6 million tons of oil a year, accounting for 50 per cent of the world's total. In China, as the country with the fastest growth in olive oil consumption in recent years, 95% of the oil products come from EU countries, of which Spain accounts for 80%.
Pakistan, one of the major producers of olive oil in Asia, is also focused on the huge consumer market of China. "Spain has only 2.6 million hectares, but it supplies nearly half of the world's olive oil. There are 4.4 million hectares of land in Pakistan that are suitable for development, and these are all opportunities. " Ali Salman believes.
There are about 40 million wild olive trees in Bakap province, which can be grafted into edible olive trees. This requires a huge amount of investment from the Pakistani government or private enterprises. How should Chinese enterprises participate? Atif Hanif, a Pakistani olive expert, said Chinese companies could work with landowners to "build up an overall industrial chain and play a huge role".
China imports 54000 tons of olive oil a year, worth US 200million $. this kind of import and export looks like a small amount, but it is far more advantageous than exporting US $2 billion mobile phones. Take a look at Vietnam, import and export is much larger than GDP, in fact, only some wages and taxes left
Pakistan consumes more than one kilogram of tea per capita per year, but very little tea is grown locally. A large amount of tea is imported from Southeast Asia and Africa. Last year alone, Pakistan imported nearly 600 million US dollars of tea. Mohamed Khursheed believes that expanding tea cultivation and sales in Pakistan can not only reduce foreign exchange pressure and create jobs in Pakistan, but also slow soil erosion. "growing tea is very beneficial to our ecological environment, which is the same as the concept of development in China."
China and Pakistan have also set up a tea cooperation center to carry out tea research and cultivation. "over the years, we have continued to receive support from China in the areas of technology, investment and trade." Mohamed Khursheed looks forward to making full use of the opportunities of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the future to further deepen cooperation in the field of tea cultivation and processing between China and Pakistan.
Production technology and the level of science and technology also restrict Pakistan's food processing industry, more than one Pakistani industry insiders publicly called on the Pakistani government to increase agricultural investment and introduce more agricultural science and technology. Take honey as an example. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, former president of Pakistan's Faisalabad Agricultural University, expressed his helplessness: "We all know that honey is a huge market, but we don't have extraction equipment and ordinary bee farmers can't afford it."
Even if it is produced, it may not be able to sell. Pakistani President L-Arif Arvi has said that Pakistan has the potential to become one of the largest honey producers. Shah Farman, governor of Bakap Province, proudly introduced Cape honey to Chinese honey manufacturers: "our honey has two characteristics: low sugar content and low freezing point, even at minus 3 degrees Celsius, it is liquid."
However, due to quarantine problems, such high-quality honey cannot be directly exported to Europe and the United States. instead, it has to be licensed in the Middle East and then sold to Europe and the United States. Pakistan exported 6.351 million US dollars of natural honey from July to November 2020, according to the National Bank of Pakistan. Behind the figures is a huge loss of profits. "We sell honey for $20 or $25 per kilogram, while other countries package our honey and sell it for $100." Dr. Mohamed-Azm-Khan (Muhammad Azeem Khan), president of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, said.