KARACHI: Over $410 million of export deals were finalised in agro-rel­ated products along with the signing of 10 memorandum of understanding (MoUs) at Pak­istan’s 1st International Food and Agriculture Exhibition-FoodAg-2023, which concluded on Saturday.

The three-day event, organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) at Expo Centre, attracted visitors from 60 countries while a large number of B2B meetings were also held.

More than 221 exporters exhibited over 500 quality products, while over 600 international bu­­yers from 60 countries at­­tended the event includi­ng buyers from Nico Food, Diamond Star, Zensho Tra­­­ding from Japan, Me­­t­ro, Amzon and Hello Fresh from Germany, Vitana Food and Shana Food from Iran. The largest participation was from China comprising 150 plus buyers.

The representatives from 15 regulatory authorities held detailed 26 mee­tings with Pakistani counterparts to discuss sanitary and phytosanitary and quarantine issues. The event provided visibility to Pakistan’s regulatory authorities including the Department of Plant Protection, Animal Quar­antine Department, Mar­ine Fisheries Department and IPO to improve safety standards.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2023