SHANGHAI:
Pakistan made it to the top 10 exporters of grain and its products to China in the year 2022, with shipments valuing at $456 million and representing a 14.12% growth year on year, according to the 2023 China Import Food Report.
The report was released at the China Import Food Summit held on Tuesday at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
“China is a crucial market for us. This is my first visit to China and its vibrant consumption market amazed me,” Pakistani sesame and rice dealer Muhammad Omair told the China Economic Net.
He said so far this year, his company alone has exported over 150 containers of sesame to China and he strives to push it higher by setting up an exhibition stand at CIIE.
“Cheap freight, competitive prices and high-quality products under the bilateral free trade agreement hold the key to Pakistan’s grain export,” he said, adding “high oil content in sesame makes it increasingly popular among oil extraction companies in China.”
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In the first three quarters of this year, Pakistan exported sesame worth $56.446 million to China, a 41% growth from the same period in 2022, according to statistics from China’s General Administration of Customs (CGAC).
“Broken rice for animal feed, too, has a good demand in China. In the past three years since I started exporting to China, a steady increase has been recorded. Last year, we were exporting between 70-200 containers a month to China despite the influence of floods,” Omair said.
Statistics from CGAC show a 20% increase in China’s import of broken rice from Pakistan.
“As the CIIE is being organised offline and is in full swing without the impediment of the pandemic, it offers golden matchmaking opportunities for Pakistani and other international businesses to exploit the vast, open market,” Omair added.
THE ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE CHINA ECONOMIC NET
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th2023.
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