Pakistan requests access to US market for mangoes, dates

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has requested the United States to allow market access to its agriculture goods, especially mangoes and dates on mutually beneficial footings.

The request was made, when US Ambassador to Pakistan Paul Jones called on Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahabzada Mehboob Sultan on Monday. The meeting was held in the backdrop of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s forthcoming visit to US in the second half of this month.

The federal minister informed the honourable guest that the scope of Pakistani mango export to the US could be enhanced, for it met all the international standards and was exported after vapour treatment. This, he said would greatly boost mango exports.

The minister also invited the US to collaborate for value-addition of mangos in Pakistan, which would be mutually beneficial. Pakistani mango was exported to almost 48 countries across the globe.

Sultan further added that dates from Pakistan could also be granted market access in US. He suggested that in view of the forthcoming visit of the prime minister, dates and other products could also be granted market access on the basis of reciprocity.

“This government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is making out all efforts to strengthen the agriculture sector, especially post devolution,” he said. The government has identified few areas to develop on priority, and one of the prioritised fields was the mechanisation of the agriculture sector to augment the yield of cotton and development of oilseed to decrease the import bill of the country.

“In the next four years, our government/ministry is open for cooperation from provinces and friendly countries for mutual benefit in agriculture,” he added. Jones said that US was well aware that Pakistan was an important agricultural country. Exchange of technologies in agro field including cooperation in value-addition, public private partnership would be welcomed by both the sides.

Federal minister and the ambassador mutually agreed that the prime minister’s forthcoming visit would be very important to highlight the preferred areas of cooperation, especially in the field of agriculture.

The ambassador suggested Pakistan could import meat from US, to which the federal minister said that it could be revised after mutual consultation. Speaking about the start of the prime minister’s Agriculture Emergency Program, the federal minister expressed his desire that both countries explore venues for mutual cooperation.

“The prime minister’s visit to the US augurs well, and it is hoped that it will bring both the countries closer,” Sultan added. Jones also expressed the same desire and assured that he would pursue the matters discussed in the meeting.