February 10, 2010

Pakistan upgrades grain quality testing laboratory

The Minister of Food and Agriculture of Pakistan on Monday (Feb 8) inaugurated the newly upgraded Grain Quality Testing Laboratory at the National Agriculture Research Centre.

The lab was upgraded with the aim to enhance quality crop production for local consumption as well as for export purposes.

Farm minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal said the lab would enhance linkage of Pakistani products with the international market and help enhance the country's exports. While there were already such labs in the country, this newly-established lab would serve as a focal point, he added.

Pakistan was far behind in facilitating traders to meet the requirements of product quality and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) system, which were the prerequisite of international trade.

This makes Pakistan unable to compete in the international market, and there had been several rejections of the country's export consignments for the past five years due to quality and SPS noncompliance issues.