KARACHI – The largest retail chain of Japan, AEON, will send a top level buying mission to Pakistan to explore possibilities for purchase of local goods for its 4500 outlets in Japan. Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chief Executive Tariq Iqbal Puri said that the AEON stores have a large annual turnover.
Tariq Puri, who was a part of Pakistani delegation led by President Asif Ali Zardari, that visited Japan from February 21-23, said that he had held a meeting with the president of Aeon, Motoya Okada alongwith Secretary Commerce Zafar Mehmud and Pakistani businessmen. President Asif Ali Zardari also had a meeting with Okada and persuaded him to buy Pakistani products for his stores, he added.
He said that they will send their delegation before October this year when their buying season begins. Preparation for this visit will start in July this year, when TDAP will send a delegation of Pakistani exporters to Japan Fashion Week, he said. Giving details of the meetings with top Japanese entrepreneurs and trading houses such as Marubeni and Mitsubishi, Puri stated that it was decided that these houses will also market Pakistani products in Japanese market.
Currently, they are procuring Pakistani products for other Asian markets, said TDAP chief. He said that it was decided that Pakistan will start full scale exports of mangoes from next year as Japan has lifted a ban on export of Pakistani mangoes from January 30, 2011. These mangoes will be treated and cleaned by vapor heating technique to remove fruit fly.
