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A delegation of the dairy sector of Ireland visited Sukkur Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) and showed interest to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s dairy sector. The representatives of the Board of Investment of Pakistan also accompanied the Irish delegation.

Addressing the delegation, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that Pakistan’s dairy sector plays an important role in the national economy as its value is more than the combined value of major wheat and cotton cash-crops. He said that Pakistan is the 5th top milk producer in the world as it produces over 65 million tonnes of milk every year. However, due to lack of modern technology and best practices, over 95 percent of milk remains unprocessed due to which the country is losing huge economic value of this product.

Ahsan Bakhtawari said that Irish investors should bring modern technology and expertise to Pakistan and invest in the dairy sector, which will enable them to export value-added milk products around the world. He said that investment of Irish investors in Pakistan’s dairy sector would bring about a revolution in the lives of millions of people whose livelihood are directly linked to this sector and bring prosperity to rural Pakistan. He was of the view that increasing the processing of milk up to 15-20 percent from the current level of less than 5 percent would help Pakistan overcome its economic challenges and emerge as a growing economy. He assured that SCCI would fully cooperate in connecting them with right partners in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, the members of the Irish delegation said that Pakistan has huge potential in the dairy sector. They said that Ireland has advanced technology and expertise in the dairy sector as it exports over €5 billion of dairy products every year, which are known for their quality and standards. They said that they are keen to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s dairy sector as the cost of shipping dairy products from Ireland to this part of the world is quite huge. They said that they can educate Pakistani farmers in herd management, quality milk production and value addition of milk products. The dairy industry is a key component of the Ireland’s economy providing €16 billion of economic value and around 85,000 jobs, with much needed employment focused in rural areas.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President SCCI said that the average milk yield of a cow is less than 14 litres per day in Pakistan as against the global standards of 30 litres. He said by setting up modern dairy plants in Pakistan, Irish investors can export value-added dairy products to many parts of the world and they should take full advantage of this untapped potential.

Dr. Nadeem Jan, Federal Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination said that the pharma industry is playing a crucial role in meeting the growing demand of medicine and promoting exports, therefore, the government is determined to address its key issues to further strengthen it and boost its exports. He said that the government is working to establish a pharma park with public private partnership and incentives would be offered to the pharma industry for local production of pharma raw material as well as local production of new molecules in the country. He said that he was already in contact with friendly nations for the transfer of technology to the pharmaceutical sector. He said this while addressing a delegation of Sukkur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) that called on him.

Dr. Nadeem Jan said that the government plans to digitize the overall health system in the country to meet modern trends. He said that the purpose of technology transfer to the medical sector is to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure. He also informed the SCCI delegation about the forthcoming Global Health Security Summit in Pakistan. He assured that the issues highlighted by the SCCI delegation would be considered for redress.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry briefed the Federal Minister of National Health Services about the key issues of pharma industry. He said that the pharma industry imports almost 90 percent of raw material to manufacture medicines but due to fluctuation of currency, the import cost of raw material has increased manifold. He stressed that the government should encourage local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients to reduce production cost of medicines and compete more effectively in the international export market. He said that Pakistan’s pharma industry exports were just over US$ 700 million during the fiscal year 2022-23 and stressed for the collective efforts from the government, industry players and regulatory bodies to enhance pharma exports to over US$5 billion in the next few years.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President SCCI said that many local and international pharma companies are working in Pakistan and emphasized that the government, industry players and regulatory authorities should work together to position Pakistan as a leading player in the global pharmaceutical market.

Zafar Bakhtawari, former President SCCI and Secretary General UBG, Dr. Joharia Azhar, Faseeh ullah Khan and Zia Khalid Chaudhry were in the SCCI delegation.