Pakistan, China can produce high-grade sugar in abundance: PCJCCI chief

LAHORE: Pakistan and China can produce high-grade sugar in abundance and export it across the world, stated by Moazzam Ghurki, President Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) during a think tank session held at PCJCCI Secretariat recently.

Sugarcane cooperation between China and Pakistan will bring sweet revolution, and will literally turn the friendship between the two nations “sweeter than honey”, he remarked.

President PCJCCI said that our responsibility is to connect people and experts from China & Pakistan and provide them a platform. This is what we are doing with zeal and zest. China and Pakistan should join hands to promote sugarcane production and processing to produce high-grade sugar. Believe me two iron friends can export sugar to the world if they enhance cooperation in this field.

He added that “Tissue Culture” can bring revolution in the production of sugarcane; Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Science has been giving training to the scientists across the globe. It has introduced 100 training courses for 4,000 participants from more than 90 countries. More than 40 young scientists from Asia, Africa, and Latin America came to CATAS for medium and long term visits and exchanges.

Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President PCJCCI said that Pakistan is a traditional agricultural country, but there is still a lot more to do to modernize its agriculture sector to enable it to meet international. CATAS strongly rejected using conventional seeds.

Conventional seeds are not suitable for planting. Breeding disease free seedlings are perfect for sugarcane production and he made clear that by applying integrated disease-free techniques, the pathogens of viruses and RSD can be removed, and problem of degradation and purification can be solved simultaneously.

He added as CPEC inches near to completion in Pakistan, we are offering our latest agricultural technology to Pakistan. We are here to modernize Pakistan’s agriculture sector.

Hamza Khalid, Vice President PCJCCI said Pakistan’s sugarcane industry couldn’t prosper until growers get leading sugarcane variety. Pakistan is still far from getting access to leading sugarcane varieties which offer great resistance against diseases. We must start sugarcane breeding program in Pakistan with the help of China.

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI said there is a great scope of cooperation between China and Pakistan in agriculture sector including “sugar industry”.

“We need to cooperate so that we can learn from China and China can learn from Pakistan. It will mutually benefit us”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023