Observer Report
Beijing
Pakistan is needed to move from traditional to modern agriculture to overcome it’s trade deficit and meet its socio-economic targets.
Pakistan’s trade deficit decreased from 5.8 billion to 31.8 billion dollars in the financial year 2019. The reduction in the trade deficit was primarily driven by the fall in imports. In the financial year of 2020, exports face severe challenges, reports Gwadar Pro App quoting it’s commentator Prof. Cheng Xizhong.
He noted that between 2008 to 2018, Pakistan agricultural production increased about 56%, but the average increase was 72% in the South Asian region, while the average rise was more than 90% in the lower middle-income countries. He was of the view that Pakistan can quickly embark on the road of rapid development and get rid of poverty and backwardness by focusing on its agriculture sector.
Pakistan has been committed in increasing exports and reducing imports to cope with the serious financial difficulties since Imran Khan became the Prime Minister. The export of Pakistani goods and services is far behind the global and South Asian average. To improve export capacity, the most important thing is to accelerate the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), especially the construction of the nine special economic zones in the second stage, so that Pakistan can enter the track of rapid economic development, and strive to realize the industrialization and modernization of the nation.
Pakistan is an agricultural country, and agriculture is the lifeline of Pakistan’s economy. The development of Pakistan’s agriculture is behind the world and South Asia, I think there are many reasons, but the main reason is that Pakistan has not realized the leap from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, and has not realized the mechanization, scale production, technicalities and modernization of agriculture.
He emphasized that if Pakistan only exports agriculture product and handicrafts not achieving industrialization and production of a large number of high-tech industrial products then it would be very difficult to substantially improve country’s export capacity. Increase in foreign exchange reserves, and getting rid of the financial difficulties would also be difficult, Cheng Xizhong added, according to Gwadar Pro App.
