The patron-in-chief of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA), Waheed Ahmad has suggested that a special standing committee and research cell should be set up at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Comers and Industry (FPCCI) for getting benefits as much as possible from China-Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC).
Addressing a dinner hosted at his residence in honour of nominated candidates of United Business Group (UBG) for the election of FPCCI, he also lauded the services of Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, SM Munir, saying that he (Munir) played an important role in resolving the problems of the authority as well as business community.
He said exports of the country have decreased except fruits and vegetables' export mainly due to efforts of PFVA. He said fruits and vegetables have helped increase the country's exports by 10 percent, adding that the exports could reach $6 billion, if special incentives given to agriculture sector. Waheed said the association has presented recommendations about its problems to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and has been assured by the Premier and authorities concerned that the issues will be resolved on priority basis.
He said if the agriculture sector remained neglected, the national economy could be affected by 65 percent. He said S M Munir is also playing his role in opening up of Chinese market for fruits of the country and it is hoped that exporters would be sending thousands of containers to the neighbouring country as compared to mere 50 containers registered this year.
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering, S M Munir said keeping the business opportunities under the CPEC in view, the business community in collaboration with TDAP and FPCCI is striving for getting maximum benefits from the mega project. He lauded Waheed Ahmed for his untiring efforts to bring the horticulture sector at par with other leading sectors to collectively enhance the exports.
He said the UBG, in case of its success in the FPCCI election, will co-ordinate with Waheed Ahmed and his association to improve exports in the neglected sector. He said PFVA and FPCCI will jointly try to explore the untapped markets in Asia and Europe. Senator Haseeb Khan said merit and transparency should be ensured on work on the CPEC, as it was a project of national importance. He added that hectic efforts should be made to reap benefits from the CPEC as much as possible.
Addressing the programme, presidential candidate at FPCCI, Zubair Tufail said that with the co-ordination of PFVA and its chief Waheed Ahmed, proposals would be made to the government for evolutionary development in agricultural sector. He said the CPEC is going to open the doors of opportunities for the business community, adding that multiple sectors would be benefited from the multibillion dollar project. Gulzar Feroz, Khalid Tawab, Hanif Gohar, Amir Ata Bajwa, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Aslam Pakhali and others also spoke on the occasion.
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