Pakistan's agriculture industry looks to Australian expertise

The Pakistani Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar Mohammad Gondal, said that Pakistan and Australia both share agriculture-based economies which could prove to be extremely beneficial for each other.

The minister stated that Australian assistance in the development of biotechnology, water conservation system and edible oilseed can prove to be of paramount importance for Pakistan. He added that there was a huge desert land in the Balochistan and Punjab provinces and other parts of the country where the Australian expertise could prove to be productive.

There was also an emphasis on improving agriculture trade between the two countries, with Nazar commenting that Pakistani basmati rice and surplus wheat could be exported to Australia, and that Pakistan has a surplus of about 3 million tonnes in wheat and 5 million tonnes in rice that could be exported to Australia.

Also, two-thirds of water was lost from the sources to fields in Pakistan, which puts great pressure on their underground water resources. Australian's assistance and co-operation was also requested in improving these water channels.