Islamabad, September 18, 2025 — Pakistan and Poland have agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture and food security, following a high-level meeting between Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, and the Polish ambassador in Islamabad on Thursday.
During the meeting, both sides discussed expanding bilateral collaboration in agricultural trade, livestock, and food processing, while addressing challenges related to strict European Union Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The minister highlighted that Polish markets remain difficult for Pakistani exporters due to regulations on transportation, storage, aflatoxin levels, and packaging. He urged Poland to support harmonization between Pakistan’s Department of Plant Protection and Poland’s National Plant Protection Organization to resolve these issues.
Rana Tanveer noted Poland’s strong position in global agriculture, being the world’s second-largest rye exporter and third-largest apple exporter, along with significant production of wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, tobacco, fruits, and potatoes. He emphasized that closer cooperation could bring substantial benefits in areas such as grains, fruits, livestock, and food processing.
Currently, Pakistan exports rice, mangoes, sesame seeds, dates, and alfalfa seeds to Poland, though in smaller quantities than its production capacity allows, while imports from Poland mainly include potato starch and rapeseed tortillas. The minister identified citrus, rice, mangoes, and animal products as promising sectors for expanded trade and called on Poland to open its market for Pakistani citrus fruits, which are already exported to more than 40 countries, including the UK, Norway, and Russia.
Both sides also agreed to explore deeper collaboration in the livestock sector. The minister proposed a joint working group on animal health, veterinary sciences, meat trade, and dairy production, noting that Pakistan already exports animal casings to Poland and could expand this to beef, poultry, and processed food.
The meeting further covered potential cooperation in crop genetics, post-harvest management, renewable energy use in farming, water conservation, biotechnology for land reclamation, and organic farming certification. Concluding the talks, Rana Tanveer Hussain reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to building a long-term partnership with Poland, expressing confidence that greater cooperation would open new avenues for trade, technology transfer, and sustainable agricultural development.
