SAHIWAL: Agricultural scientists, trade experts, researchers, progressive growers, farmers and policy stakeholders say that Pakistan has a unique opportunity to hit China`s sorghum market, which imports nearly 8 million tons annually.

This could potentially generate up to $500 million in foreign exchange in the coming years.

Speakers said this during a seminar titled`Seizing Global Market Opportunities: Revitalising Pakistan`s Sorghum Exports to China` by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) at the Maize and Millet Research Institute, Sahiwal, on Saturday.

Hina Tahir, TDAP deputy director, said the seminar aimed toexplore how Pakistan could leverage ongoing trade disruptions between China and the United States to position itself as a reliable sorghum supplier.

Athar Hussain, director general, stressed the importance of tapping into the Chinese market, especially amid an 81.8% decline in US sorghum exports.

`With targeted interventions and farmers` support, Pakistan can transform sorghum into a $500 million export commodity within a decade,`he asserted.

He highlighted the crop`s potential in Punjab`s marginal lands, including Thal and Cholistan. Dr Qamar Shakil, principal scientist at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, focused on improving production technology and enhancing market access to align with Chinese import standards.Muhammad Saeed, director at Maize & Millet Research Institute, emphasised the need for a better seed supply system to expand cultivation in regions such as Thal and Cholistan. Providing insights into China`s growing demand for sorghum, Ghulam Qadir, trade and investment counsellor from Beijing, highlighted its significance for livestock feed and China`s $100 billionBaijiuindustry one of the country`s most popular distilled alcoholic beverages, primarily made from fermented sorghum. He noted that Pakistan could benefit from China`s efforts to diversify its import sources in response to trade tensions with the US.

Shahbaz Akhtar, director of agriculture extension, shared best practices for mobilising farmers and improving local production capacity.