China ships 500 tonnes of hybrid rice seeds to Pakistan

Seeds estimated to be planted on 33,333 hectares of land

NANJING: A total of 500 tonnes of hybrid rice seeds from a seed company in east China's Jiangsu province have landed in Pakistan to help ensure the country's grain yield this year.

It is estimated that the seeds would be planted on 33,333 hectares of land.

Earlier this year, Jiangsu Hongqi Seed Industry Company, an enterprise engaged in wholesale and retail of crop seeds in China, reached an agreement with Pakistani customers to ship hybrid rice seeds after the spring festival.

However, affected by the coronavirus epidemic, the seeds could not be processed and packaged as planned.

Thanks to the help of Customs of Taizhou city in China's Jiangsu province, which opened a green channel and streamlined the process, the seeds were finally loaded on a ship and departed for Pakistan.

"If these seeds could not be delivered to our customers in time, our business and reputation could be damaged, while the local grain yield in Pakistan could also be affected," said Zha Lianqun, General Manager of the company. Since the end of last year, Pakistan has struggled to combat locust plagues which have destroyed crops and threatened the livelihoods of farmers.

"This batch of seeds will help ensure the grain yield of Pakistan this year," Zha said, adding that China will provide more technical assistance and work with Pakistan to fight the locust disaster. China and Pakistan have seen closer cooperation in agriculture in recent years since the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

China's seed products have become very popular with Pakistani buyers due to high resistance to temperature and diseases, and low yield reduction rate. The company obtained an order of 100 tonnes of hybrid rice seeds from Pakistan in 2017 and expects the export volume will exceed 1,000 tonnes in 2021.

This article originally appeared on the China Economic Net 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2020.

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