Pakistan, China sign deal on onion export: envoy

BEIJING: Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque has said that signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on onion export from Pakistan to China is an important step in promoting bilateral trade between the two countries.

“This is a very welcome development because Pakistan and China are very important trading partners and the MoU will help promote bilateral trade,” he told APP.

China and Pakistan have signed the protocol of inspection and quarantine requirements for the export of onions from Pakistan. With the agreement, Pakistani onion producers will gain access to the Chinese market.

Ambassador Haque said that Pakistan and China were very important trading partners, adding, “In fact, China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner.”

Last year, the two countries launched the second phase of free trade agreement, under which both countries had deepened access to their respective markets.

“More than 1,000 products are enjoying tariff-free lines and onion is one of the products. So this agreement will help in the access of onion products, from Pakistan to China,” he added.

The ambassador said the MoU has helped in facilitation of requirements such as quarantine and other requirements of the Chinese authorities.

“So it will facilitate the export of onion from Pakistan to China and we can see it as a very important step in promoting bilateral trade between our two countries.”

To a question about improvement in onion production, he said, after having facility of exporting onion to the largest market in the world, the producers in Pakistan would also take steps to improve the cultivation techniques and standards in a bid to increase the capacity and the production of onion to meet the Chinese demand.

Ambassador Haque said that China was a very strong agricultural country and the Pakistani authorities were already working with China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework in the agricultural sector to improve the crop yields in Pakistan and to have new seeds and new irrigation techniques.

“I’m sure that with this cooperation, we could be able to improve the production of onion in Pakistan, as well.”

A senior Chinese official said, in recent years, China-Pakistan agriculture trade has been growing rapidly and despite the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, bilateral agriculture trade volume remained at a high level with an amount of $717 million.

This year from January to September, China-Pakistan agriculture trade achieved a record $860 million, of which export from Pakistan to China was $613 million and it would increase on a year-on-year basis.

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