Pakistan-GCC agricultural collaboration

Pakistan had been a food basket for GCC countries, predominantly for UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is the nearest destination for gulf countries for edible export and lite ferries’ cargo reaches UAE from Karachi in just 30 to 35 hours. Wheat and rice are also major demands of the Gulf market and a report of the United States Department of Agriculture and Global Agriculture Information Networking released in December 2022, stated that Pakistani exporters-maintained sales of 500,000 tons of rice to GCC states, but that wheat export was relatively insignificant. 

There is no doubt that Pakistan has a comparative advantage in several agricultural commodities.

Conversely, the situation will altogether change when GCC investors arrive in Pakistan for producing edibles through agriculture and livestock farming facilitation and processing and packaging of foods with international standards. This will not only help Gulf companies ensure their food Security but will also provide opportunities for global export from Pakistan because the majority of GCC states have been looking toward Ukraine as their backyard food-producing garden. 

It has planned to expand its agricultural lands to 3,400 acres by 2025.

 

 

Source: Arab News