Pakistan invites Dutch investment in floriculture

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday invited investments from the Netherlands in floriculture and food processing industries on the heels of Dutch investments in agriculture and livestock sectors in the south Asian country.

Minister for Food Security and Research Fakhar Imam said Pakistan and Netherlands can cooperate in the field of floriculture.

“Both countries can collaborate in fresh cut plants, flowers and bulbs,” Imam said during a meeting with the Ambassador of Netherland Woulter Plomp.

The minister said Pakistan and Netherlands have vast potential for collaboration in the field of research in food security (agriculture and livestock). He invited further investment in dairy farming, agribusiness, food processing.

Pakistan is importing genetic material (semen) from the Netherlands for artificial insemination to local non-descript animals and also import diary/ breeding cattle. The Netherlands dairy cooperative Friesland Campina acquired 51 percent shares of Engro Foods Limited (EFL) in 2016 and became a subsidiary of Friesland Campina.

The country imports more than 7,000 metric tons of seed potatoes valuing around Euro 1 million per annum from the Netherlands.

A delegation from Pakistan visited Netherland in 2018 and conducted on-spot inspection of production sites, crop production, pest surveillance and plant health system, research activities, quarantine inspection and testing system and held discussions with various stake holders. It was agreed that seed potatoes from Netherlands may be imported with the additional declaration and phytosanitary measures.

Only seed potatoes will be entitled to be imported inspected and certified during growing season and at the time of export from their registered farms.

The Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products after the USA. Together with the USA and France, the Netherlands is one of the world’s three leading producers of vegetables and fruit. It supplies a quarter of the vegetables that are exported from Europe.