*3.6. Value of Virtual Water Flows*

The scatter plot between the value of virtual water (VVW) and blue virtual water contents for Pakistan is shown in Figure 6. We can see that commodities like fruits, vegetables and oilseed crops, placed towards the bottom-right corner have high VVW while they use relatively low blue water in their production, which means that these commodities use water more efficiently to produce higher economic value per unit of the blue water. On the other extreme is the beef sector, which uses large quantities of blue water to produce relatively low economic value. In comparison to other sectors, grain crops produced in Pakistan are not only less blue water-intensive but also produce lower economic output per unit of water. Interestingly, although the blue VWC of mutton and poultry are higher than the crops, their VVW is even higher, making them more valuable commodities in terms of water use per unit of production as compared to crops.

**Figure 6.** Average blue VWC and per unit water value for different agricultural commodities in Pakistan (1990–2016). 1 US\$ = 60.4 Pakistan Rupee over the period 1990–2016. Per unit water value is calculated based on Equation (9). Source: Authors' calculations based on data from Reference [39] (production value) and sources mentioned in the Methods section (VWC).

From the value of virtual water (VVW) estimation, we can argue that to alleviate pressure on water resources and optimize blue water use in country's agriculture sector, Pakistan should promote the production of high-value and low-water-intensive commodities like vegetables, fruits and oilseeds. This type of structural adjustment will increase the value of output per drop of water. The optimization of water use for agricultural production should also consider other environmental aspects, like grey water footprint, especially for the livestock sectors.
