Argentina offers agri-tech as Pakistan loses 40pc crop
KARACHI (Staff Report): Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Pakistan, Sebastián Sayús has offered Argentina’s expertise in advanced agricultural machinery, grain-storage technologies and post-harvest management to help Pakistan address significant losses in its agricultural produce.
Speaking during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), the Ambassador said Pakistan loses approximately 10 to 20 percent of its grain production and 35 to 40 percent of its horticultural produce annually, largely due to inefficient storage facilities and inadequate post-harvest management.
He said Argentina, being one of the world’s leading food-exporting countries and the world’s third-largest food exporter, possesses considerable expertise in agricultural machinery and modern storage solutions, including silo bags and metallic silos, which could be effectively introduced and developed in Pakistan.
The envoy expressed confidence that Argentina could play a meaningful role in helping Pakistan strengthen its agricultural supply chain, reduce wastage and improve the value of its agricultural output. With Pakistan increasingly focusing on large-scale agricultural storage solutions, he saw considerable scope for cooperation, technology transfer and mutually beneficial investment.
The Ambassador also identified significant potential for collaboration in the dairy industry, besides highlighting Argentina’s advanced pharmaceutical capabilities, especially in manufacturing of oncology products used in cancer treatment.
Emphasizing private-sector engagement, Ambassador Sayús said the Argentine Embassy was committed to facilitating business-to-business connections between companies of both countries and helping them identify reliable commercial counterparts. He stressed that expanding commercial engagement would bring the two countries closer.
Referring to existing commercial relations, he pointed out that Argentina’s exports to Pakistan reached approximately US$247 million in 2025, while Pakistan’s exports to Argentina stood at around US$75 million.
He noted both countries possess substantial natural resources and strong agricultural foundations, with agriculture contributing more than 5 percent to Argentina’s GDP and over 23 percent to Pakistan’s GDP.
Speaking on the occasion, President KCCI Talat Mahmood called for strengthening Pakistan-Argentina economic relations through more balanced bilateral trade, diversification of exportable products and enhanced business-to-business cooperation.
He stressed that Pakistan must explore greater opportunities for exporting its products to Argentina, while both countries should work towards expanding the range of goods and services being traded.
Giving an overview of trade, President KCCI noted that Pakistan primarily imports crude soybean oil, raw cotton, chickpeas, mung beans, crude sunflower oil and other agricultural commodities from Argentina. He pointed out that crude soybean oil alone accounted for approximately 75.8 percent of Argentina’s total exports to Pakistan, highlighting concentration of trade in a limited range of commodities and the need to diversify.