Trade: Thai delegation’s interest in seafood deepens

Expresses desire to import products from Pakistan during visit.

KARACHI: Thai seafood importers have expressed their desire to increase imports from Pakistan and create both short-term and long-term arrangements with their business counterparts in the country.

The businessmen said this while talking to Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) chief executive here at its head office on Thursday.

The Thai importers said that they were interested in visiting seafood processing factories in Pakistan to understand how the two countries can further collaborate on different projects.



The delegation members said that they have made advances in developing aqua culture facilities where they raise fish farms at inland sites in addition to the coastal line of the country.

A 12-member Thai delegation is on a four-day visit to Pakistan, and would leave the country on April 5. The delegation members also held business-to-business (b2b) meetings on Thursday with the seafood exporters of Pakistan.

The TDAP chief executive welcomed Thai importers to Pakistan and assured them that the government of Pakistan will provide them full cooperation.

TDAP secretary was of the view that both Pakistan and Thailand have a big coastline and the two countries can learn from each other’s experiences in the seafood sector.

“Pakistan desires to develop its seafood sector,” the secretary said, “So it is diversifying the sources of fish production and it would welcome the expertise of Thai businessmen.”

The current visit of the Thai delegation is important as it is coming in the wake of high-level visits between the two countries.  The visit by the prime ministers of the two countries is indicative of a desire to deepen bilateral cooperation between the two countries through enhancing trade, TDAP press release said.

Pakistan’s seafood exports were $317 million last year and Thailand was the second biggest export market for Pakistan after Vietnam.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2014.

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