BEIJING, Dec 4 (INP): Pakistani Mission in Guangzhou is planning to display Pakistani products at the exhibition area of China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Autonomous Region next year, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday.

Pakistan would be a special cooperation partner country at the expo and would enhance the participation by more Pakistani products, according to Muhammad Irfan, Commercial Councilor, Pakistan Consulate, Guangzhou .

"Pakistan will be participating as a special partner country in China-ASEAN Expo to be held next year as well. So, my plan is to keep this pavilion in this city for the whole year and continue marketing of our goods," Muhammad Irfan said in interview.

"We have good quality of ceramics, furniture and textile products and can tap the Chinese market which is the biggest in the world," he told CEN.

He informed that 14 participating companies from Pakistan related to marble, onyx, furniture, garments, and handicraft items are participating in this exhibition in a bid to introduce Pakistani products here and they are very hopeful that it will bring a positive result.

About Pakistan’s participation as a special partner, he said it is a unique opportunity in the sense that Pakistan is not a member of ASEAN bloc and Pakistan doesn't have any free trade agreement with these ASEAN countries.

"Pakistan for the first time has been invited as a special partner country to the event and the Chinese have promoted us through social media and the local media. The local government has branded our products all over the city through advertisement campaigns free of cost," he said.

"Nanning is called as one of the gateways for China, so we are introducing our products in this area and it will be very helpful for Pakistani business community," he said.

He lauded the Pakistani companies who showed keen interest in participating in this event. When they communicate with the local people, they are very hopeful that this will give good opportunities to Pakistani exports.

"Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the whole Guangdong Province are basically a big market for Pakistani products. A lot of Pakistanis are also living in this area and we need to put our foot on this market and we need to show our presence," he said.

"About Pakistan’s exports to China, Pakistan has recently signed the second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China and that was implemented from January 2020. But unfortunately our exporters could not come to this market and have a proper marketing owing to the coronavirus pandemic," said him.

He said that China is the largest importer of meats, fruits and vegetables in the world, and Pakistan has good-quality fruits, vegetables and meat. "We all are working hard to get approval for Pakistani meat producers to send their meat products to the Chinese market. Special team from China was supposed to visit Pakistan for quarantine inspections of Pakistani slaughterhouses and Pakistani animals."

"Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus they could not travel. So we are expecting that as soon as the situation becomes better, they will visit Pakistan," he said.

Regarding the export of good-quality mangoes to China, he said that Chinese are fond of mangoes and China has developed this technology that they can have a full year of mangoes, and they can produce mangoes.

"Pakistani season of mangoes is three to four months. We have a mango show in Guangzhou and we have promoted our mangoes. People in China, particularly in southern China, were very happy to see the Pakistani mangoes because of flavor and taste.

Lots of Chinese importers have been interested in importing Pakistani mangoes. So next year, I'm expecting that the result of this mega event will come and we will be able to get market access for our traders," he said.

About the export of cherries, he said they are trying to overcome these issues of quality and promote Pakistani product in China.

Presently, more than 3,000 Pakistanis live in Guangxi and Guangzhou area but the number becomes much higher when people from Pakistan visit this area for two months.

It is noted that the 18th China-ASEAN Expo is preliminarily scheduled for Sept. 10 to 13, 2021, with Pakistan continuing as the Special Partner Country.

INP/javed