by Meng Lingjuan

Engr. Daroo Khan Achakzai, chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), said that after the second phase of China-Pakistan FTA, it is expected that Pakistan's exports to China will reach more than $5 billion during the China- South Asia Cooperation Forum.

The 2019 South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair (SSACEIF) was held in Kunming, Yunnan Province from June 12th to 18th. 228 Pakistani exhibitors in all participated in the fair, which gathered most Pakistani businessmen among all kinds of exhibitions held in China every year. Many of them told the reporter that they came to China along with FPCCI.

Same tariff level as ASEAN to promote exports to China

The reporter interviewed Achakzai at the China-South Asia Cooperation Forum, which was held at the same time with SSACEIF. On the one hand, Pakistani exhibitors actively promote their products to China, and on the other hand, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its most recent statistics of Pakistan's exports to China, with $1.476 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, only $15 million higher than its exports to the UK in the third place. Achakzai expressed his views on this.

"By the FTA second phase, we hope that our exports to China will be increased much than two times. Because 313 items are included in the FTA, equal to the ASEAN tariff. So, we hope that our yarn, sugar, more agricultural products and maybe leather products can be exported to China in much volume, two times, three times more than the last fiscal year," Achakzai said.

In the last fiscal year, that is, from 2017 to 2018, Pakistan's exports to China totaled $1.74 billion, two to three times the volume of which is about $3.48 billion to $5.22 billion. However, according to SBP, Pakistan's exports to the United States, its largest export destination in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, were $3.367 billion. In other words, the Pakistani industrial and commercial sector, represented by Achakzai, had high expectations for the result of implementing the second phase of China-Pakistan FTA. Their export targets to China are not only likely to catch up, but also surpass that to the United States. "After the second phase of FTA, we hope that exports to China will be $5 billion plus," Achakzai added.

Export potential to China in agricultural products may hit $12 billion

In recent years, agriculture has gradually come under the spotlight in the economic and trade cooperation between China and Pakistan. At a meeting of the SCO summit in Bishkek on June 14, President Xi Jinping stressed that industrial parks and agriculture should be a new focus between the two sides, so as to expand and enrich the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). At The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that China and Pakistan has been jointly entering the next stage of CPEC, and the two countries will put more emphasis on poverty reduction and agricultural cooperation.

The Express Tribune (Pakistan’s daily English-language newspaper) recently quoted Pakistan’s Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan’s saying that the government has enhanced allocation for the development of agriculture sector by 1,200% and has earmarked Rs12.5 billion in the federal budget for fiscal year 2019-20 compared to just Rs1 billion in the previous budget. In addition, 13 new agricultural projects will also be launched, including the support for crop yield, seed supply, and mechanization of farms. While all previous governments neglected the agriculture sector.

For the interview, Achakzai specifically asked for a family photo of the leaders of the Belt and Road Summit 2019 as the background. “Pakistan also has a huge consumption of agricultural products at home. The government led by Imran Khan has announced the Clean and Green Pakistan campaign, which exempted agricultural machinery from tax for ten years. We hope this will enhance the quality of our products and our GDP growth of the agricultural products will be also higher. " Achakzai said.

Earlier, Chinese media reported that the FPCCI was in contact with China’s Kingeta International, who calls for soil amelioration, soil-friendly planting, and provides solutions for saline alkali soils in India. As early as 2017, Pakistani media reported that the FPCCI believes that if properly operated, Pakistan will earn $12 billion a year from exports of agricultural products to China, which is almost seven times the current total of Pakistan's exports to China.

"King of Fruit" expected to be promoted all over the world

A heart-shaped mango from an orchard is shown by a staff from Pakistan's Jaffer Brothers (Private) Limited. (China Economic Net/Wang Zebiao)

Pakistan is an agricultural country, and Pakistani are more than familiar with their diverse agricultural products. Among them, mango is known as the "king of fruit". It is reported that Burmese mango which has a competitive advantage in its price recently began to enter the Chinese market through Muse port.

"The Pakistani mango is the most delicious all over the world. The mango especially Sindhri is very delicious because of our soil, climate and other conditions. FPCCI hopefully organize a mango festival in Turkey in August," Achakzai said. As the Economic Daily-China Economic Net interviewed Achakzai in the Belt and Road Summit at the end of April, he said that Turkey was expected to join the construction of projects in CPEC.

According to the official website of the China-South Asia Business Forum, the FPCCI has a sharp sense, directly or indirectly represents almost the whole of Pakistan's private industry and commerce sector, serving as a navigation mark for economic development there. In his speech at the Belt and Road Summit, Imran Khan suggested that the Pakistani private sector and enterprises should be encouraged to participate in China-Pakistan project cooperation.

At the end of the interview, the reporter told Achakzai how to pronounce Pakistani mango in Chinese, and Achakzai said it carefully facing the camera eight times. "We also plan to have a mango day in China, same as promotions in other countries," Achakzai said.

The article is translated by Chen Jinglin.