Federal Food Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan has hailed the Prime Minister's call in the recently held Commonwealth Summit for meaningful market access and cutting down of agriculture subsidies for the promotion of free trade.
In a statement issued here on Monday, the minister termed the call as very significant in the backdrop of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.
Bosan said that reduction in trade distorting, domestic support and significant improvement in market access would enhance Pakistan's productivity and also help in export of country's agriculture produce.
Without level playing field in the presence of high subsidies and tariffs, Pakistan's agriculture products were suffering, despite the fact that domestic tariffs were very low and had got negative subsidies.
The minister congratulated the Prime Minister for taking aggressive position on vital issues, which, he said, were of great importance for the growth of country's agriculture sector.
Bosan underscored that with improvement in market access, Pakistan's 67 percent population living in the rural areas and depending on agriculture with 25 percent contribution to the GDP would benefit. The minister said to make the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference a success, the developed countries should lower their tariffs for the agriculture exports of the developing countries.