Japan has temporarily allowed import of mangoes from Pakistan and shown interest in importing basmati rice from Pakistan.
Japan has also shown keen interest in developing mutual agricultural research in order to further strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
On Monday, Matsuda Kuninori Japan’s Ambassador to Pakistan arranged a meeting with Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam. He highly admired the quality of mangoes exported from Pakistan and mentioned that Pakistani mango was more fragrant and showed interest in the export of basmati rice from Pakistan.
Both countries also discussed ways and means to enhance mutual cooperation in different sectors. The minister stressed the need for enhancing mutual cooperation in the transfer of technology from Japan particularly agricultural machinery.
Pakistan exported $3847 thousand worth of Basmati Rice last year to Japan and mango export rose to a record high of 120 tonnes in 2019 and they were favorably received in the Japanese market.
Import of mangoes to Japan
According to the MNFSR, three shipments of local varieties of mango, Chaunsa, and Sindhri have been dispatched by exporters, as per agreed procedures between the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) and Pakistan’s Department of Plant Protection (DPP).
Japan’s government has temporarily allowed importing mangoes from Pakistan without inspecting the quality of mangoes this year. As per the rule, the Japanese government sends their inspectors to Pakistan to check the quality and clearance before permitting the import into Japan but the Japanese government could not send inspectors due to coronavirus spread.
The MAFF has granted market access to fresh Pakistani mangoes but its import in Japan is subject to offshore disinfestation treatment and sterilization using saturated steam at vapor heat treatment facility duly approved by the DPP and MAFF and pre-clearance program by Japanese inspectors.
On Monday, the press release of the Japanese embassy said that Japan will support Pakistan in the agricultural field like taking measures for locust control, investing in the food processing sectors, and to expand the export of agricultural products.
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