Pakistan’s sesame seed shipments to China increased by 50% year-over-year to $59.09 million in the first nine months of the current calendar year, according to data from the General Administration of People’s Republic of China Customs (GACC).
The GACC informed Pakistan that China imported 39,533.855 tonnes of sesame seeds, a 22% increase in volume, worth $59.09 million, compared to 32,487 tonnes for $37.44 million during the same period last year.
January was the strongest month for sesame seed exports, with Pakistan sending China 26,658.61 tonnes valued at $39.89 million, followed by September with 5,564.45 tonnes valued at $8.66 million.
Pakistan Embassy Commercial Counsellor Ghulam Qadir told China Economic Net (CEN) that sesame seed shipments have surged recently as a result of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement and favourable market prices in China.
“We will attempt to attract Chinese investors to Pakistan in order to assist them in establishing factories with the most advanced technology so that we can create processed goods of this substance, thereby boosting Pakistan’s exports to China and the rest of the globe,” he added.
The commercial counsellor stated that Pakistan’s government was offering numerous advantages to Chinese investors and that the only way to minimise Pakistan’s trade deficit and enhance exports was through the transfer of technologies and the relocation or establishment of factories.
Ali Rizwan, an agricultural expert, told CEN that the Pakistani government introduced new crops, particularly in 2016.
The launch of the national oilseed enhancement scheme in Punjab and afterwards at the federal level assisted farmers in exporting their harvests. These are cash-generating and lucrative crops.
“There are two major advantages of the Chinese market: first, the prices are favourable in comparison to those on the local market. “Second, the market is so vast that it is typically exceedingly difficult for a single exporter to fulfil an order,” he explained.
China purchased approximately 891,238,599 tonnes of sesame seeds worth approximately $1.35 billion from various regions of the world, according to available data.