Pakistani goods have strong competitive force at CAEXPO: envoy

NANNING: Pakistani goods have a strong competitive force at the 18th China-Asean Expo, especially the textile sector, which remains one of Pakistan’s flagship products, a diplomat said.

“Pakistan has already opened the market of China and Asean. These years, Pakistan’s exports have recorded a new volume, exports to China are showing great momentum, as well, and we hope that by the end of this year, we will have a new breakthrough, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said in an interview with the China Economic Net.

Pakistan is one of the few countries, which have a complete ecosystem of textiles, from weaving to dyeing, making garments and clothes.

“Textile is our strongest sector, so you can see the products from home textile to ladies’ clothes are all showcased here,” Ambassador Haque said, while referring to Pakistani stalls set up at the expo.

The food sector in Pakistan is very important. Pakistan is one of the largest leading countries in production of wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, as essential raw materials, which have made it one of the most competitive countries in the region, he said, adding that the government is focusing towards industrialisation to do value addition for these products.

Ambassador Haque said that the competitive commodity of Pakistan is milk products, adding: “We are the fourth largest country, as equal to China in milk production. Now we are focusing on also bringing a revolution in the dairy sector by doing value addition such as making cheese, yogurt and other products, then exporting to Asean countries, China, and even the whole region.”

He also mentioned sports products as his favourite Pakistani goods, and he is proud that Pakistan is the largest producer of footballs in the world, and most world-class tournaments have assigned Pakistani football as their official football.

“Not only football, but we also make other sports goods such as boxing gloves, motorcycle gloves, and so on,” he added.

Ambassador Haque said that this is the second time that Pakistan has been invited to participate as a special partner country.

“We were given this honour for two years continuously, which is unprecedented in the history of CAEXPO. In another sense, it is important because China and Pakistan are celebrating the 70th anniversary of friendship this year. Pakistan’s participation is dedicated to this milestone.”

He expressed pleasure to see such a beautifully designed pavilion and Pakistani products at the expo, which are very important export products of Pakistan. As many as 14 Pakistani stores, which are set up by Pakistani traders, are displaying these different products, he added.

Ambassador Haque emphasised that CAEXPO is very important for Pakistan because it represents two large markets: “China, which is the second largest economy in the world, and Asean countries, which have become a very important trading block in the region, representing around 2 billion people and $18 trillion economy. Now, these countries have set up RCEP regional cooperation partnership.”

To a question, he said, Pakistan has a close friendship with China and Asean countries, adding: “Pakistan’s presence and cooperation with China and Asean, provides our traders [with] new opportunities to come here and use this platform to export to the RCEP block. So, we think that this platform will help in building trilateral cooperation in trade and investments.”

Ambassador Haque said that Pakistan had already opened the market of China and Asean. Now, Pakistan has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China and it launched its second phase last year. In recent years, both Pakistan and China have opened their markets, and nearly 1,000 products are exported duty-free.

In addition, the Pakistani government is also helping promote trade and create an enabling environment for the traders to converge here and share their projects, and the results are clear and evident, he added.