ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have agreed to boost bilateral agricultural trade to $3 billion within the next two years.
The decision came at the conclusion of a high-level ministerial visit to Tehran, led by Pakistan’s Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, during which the two countries signed a joint communique.
During the visit, Minister Hussain secured Iran’s commitment to source a significant portion of its rice imports from Pakistan. According to a press release from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Iran’s government and private sector will now primarily rely on Pakistan for rice, providing a stable and consistent export market for Pakistani rice.
The Pakistani minister also obtained assurances from Iran to address challenges in mango exports, including delays in import permits and foreign exchange allocations.
Iran’s Minister for Agriculture, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh, stated that the current agricultural trade between the two countries stands at approximately $1.4 billion. He noted that the nations have complementary strengths that can be leveraged to meet each other’s needs throughout different seasons.
Under the new plan, Iran will increase exports of dairy products, nuts, fruits, and vegetables to Pakistan, while Pakistan will supply a portion of Iran’s corn and rice imports and 60 percent of its meat imports.
Read Top Stories
The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in climate change and food security research and to establish a joint agriculture committee, which will meet every six months to monitor progress and address bottlenecks.
Minister Hussain further secured consensus on several trade facilitation measures, including faster customs clearance, the development of warehouses and cold chain systems, and improvements in border infrastructure to ensure that perishable goods reach markets efficiently and in optimal quality.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to advance toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), providing a long-term framework for expanding agricultural trade. The next session of the Iran–Pakistan Joint Economic Commission is scheduled to take place in Tehran next month.