ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC):The Pakistani traders have expressed keen interest in buying tea and coffee from Ethiopia at affordable rates.
“There is a huge demand of tea and coffee in Pakistan, but connectivity, quality control mechanisms and institutional linkages between the two countries are the need of the hour,” said the members of a joint delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Pakistan Tea Association in a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jemal Beker Abdula.
The ambassador said work on establishing connectivity and institutional linkages between the two countries for social, economic, and political cooperation was underway intensively. The quality control was rigorous in Ethiopia and rest assured that there would be no compromise on export quality of tea and coffee from Ethiopia.
He said confidence-building measures would also be taken for Pakistani traders so that the bilateral trade between the two countries could go to the next level. The envoy said Ethiopia has surplus tea and coffee which could be exported to Pakistan at affordable rates.
“Currently, Ethiopian tea is coming from other channels, but we are working on different agreements in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan to enable Pakistan and Ethiopia to boost their trade in diverse areas”, he remarked.