Pak-US Green Alliance to help agri-productivity
PHOTO: AGENCIES
United States Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, said on Friday that the Pak-US Green Alliance will help meet the climate and agricultural productivity challenges of the present and future.
Speaking at the Oil Seeds Summit at a local hotel on Friday, he said the US soy industry has a great story to tell about the US farmers’ sustainable stewardship of soil and water resources, and “I’m sure that US representatives will be excited to share that story with their partners here in Pakistan.”
Highlighting the US soybeans’ contribution to Pakistan’s food security and the important partnership between US soybean producers and Pakistani soy processors, he discussed at length the “robust economic relationship” between the two countries.
As part of his visit to promote the US-Pakistan bilateral partnership in agriculture, trade, and economy, the envoy met with representatives from the All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to discuss how to deepen the already thriving relationship between Punjab’s textile sector and US cotton producers.
“One of the great economic success stories of the US-Pakistan partnership is the relationship between US cotton and Pakistani textile producers – and this success is centred in Punjab,” he said, adding that, “The two-way trade in cotton and textiles was $5.3 billion in 2021, which is more than half of the $8.9 billion trade between our nations.”
Blome explained that the US exported $700 million in cotton to Pakistan, whose textile makers turned around and sent $4.6 billion in textiles back to the US.
Ambassador Blome also met officials of the Corteva - a US agrisciences company, and learned how US hybrid seed corn is contributing to Punjab’s farmers’ yields and incomes. He said the US is working with Winrock International on a $20 million agricultural development project to strengthen the agricultural sector in Southern Punjab.
The US envoy also interacted with farmers from Southern Punjab and listened to their problems. He said the project will improve their horticultural crop outputs
APTMA Patron-in-Chief, Dr Gohar Ejaz stressed obtaining duty free access to the US market was required to make Pakistan competitive against other competitors.
With additional input from APP
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2022.
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