Markets cannot afford to ignore agriculture

Islamabad: A report last week on the UAE prospectively looking at future investments in Pakistan's farmlands to ensure a smooth supply of food commodities in future, says much about the disconnect between the view from Pakistan's markets and what is on offer in the farm lands.

Pakistan's market analysts have seldom paid attention to the agricultural sector, though it contributes almost a quarter of the country's overall gross domestic product or GDP.

The textile sector is down. The fact that cotton is the main raw material for textiles, and Pakistan suffered a major cotton crop failure just last year, has done little to affect the outlook on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).

Is the arrival of foreign investors led by the UAE a fundamental sign of newly emerging trends?

From March this year, the price of food items and beverages went up a staggering 20 per cent plus compared to about a year ago.

High inflation in Pakistan is also a factor which can not remain dissociated from the farm sector.

The markets have to wake up. The KSE's many seasoned analysts must begin thinking in terms of the challenges versus the opportunities offered by Pakistan's farming sector, notably in attracting key foreign investors.

- The writer is a journalist based in Pakistan.