LAHORE: U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome has said that the U.S.- Pakistan Green Alliance will help meet climate and agricultural productivity challenges of the present and future.
Speaking at the Oil Seeds Summit at a local hotel on Friday, he said the U.S. soy industry has a great story to tell about U.S. farmers’ sustainable stewardship of soil and water resources, and “I’m sure that U.S. representatives will be excited to share that story with their partners here in Pakistan.”
Highlighting the U.S. soybeans’ contribution to Pakistan’s food security and the important partnership between U.S. soybean producers and Pakistani soy processors, he discussed at length the “robust economic relationship” between the two countries.
As part of his visit to promote the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral partnership in agriculture, trade, and economy, the envoy met with representatives from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to discuss how to deepen the already thriving relationship between Punjab’s textile sector and U.S. cotton producers.
He said one of the great economic success stories of the U.S.-Pakistan partnership is the relationship between U.S. cotton and Pakistani textile producers – and this success is centred in Punjab.
Blome said, “The two-way trade in cotton and textiles was $5.3 billion in 2021, which is more than half of the $8.9 billion trade between our nations.”
He said the United States exported $700 million in cotton to Pakistan, whose textile makers turned around and sent $4.6 billion in textiles back to the United States. This two-way trade keeps growing, and it is centred in Punjab.
Ambassador Blome also met officials of the Corteva – a U.S. Agriscience company, and learned how U.S. hybrid seed corn is contributing to Punjab’s farmers’ yields and incomes. He said the United States is working with Winrock International on a $20 million agricultural development project to strengthen the agricultural sector in Southern Punjab.
Ambassador Blome also interacted with farmers from the Southern Punjab and listened to their problems. He said the project will improve their horticultural crop outputs via this U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded project.