LAHORE: Pakistan has stopped importing tomato from India as there is enough local production to meet domestic demand, Federal Secretary National Food Security and Research Muhammad Abid Javed said on Thursday.

Speaking to office-bearers of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said special attention was being given to the halal food sector as it has the ability to give a quantum jump to national exports.

He said the Rice Research Institute has recently introduced two new varieties that would help enhance rice exports. He said there was a high demand for Pakistani basmati rice in the global market.

In his address, LCCI President Abdul Basit said it was a matter of concern that the performance of the agriculture sector as a whole remained dismal during the previous fiscal year.

He said that unlike other sectors of economy, the agriculture sector witnessed a negative growth of 0.19 per cent against 2.53pc growth during the same period last year. Other sub-components of the agriculture sector like livestock, forestry and fishing posted a positive growth of 3.63pc, 8.84pc and 3.25pc, respectively.

“This is high time that our farmers and local entrepreneurs related to food and its associated sectors must be motivated to modernise their processes,” Mr Basit said. “The Ministry of National Food Security and Research can play a pivotal role in this regard.”

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2016