Islamabad
\nThe Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry\u2019s Businessmen Panel (BMP) has called for a focused strategy to expand Pakistan\u2019s exports to Gulf markets, enhance value addition and remove trade and logistics barriers, as the country\u2019s trade deficit with major Gulf partners widened in the first two months of the current fiscal year.
\nBMP Chairman and FPCCI former president Mian Anjum Nisar said the latest trade figures highlighted both the challenges and considerable opportunities available to Pakistan in the Gulf region, which remains one of the country\u2019s most important commercial and energy partners.
\nHe said the increase in Pakistan\u2019s exports to some Gulf destinations was encouraging, but the simultaneous rise in imports from several countries showed the need for a broader policy approach aimed at strengthening domestic production, increasing value-added exports and improving the competitiveness of Pakistani businesses.
\nAccording to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan\u2019s trade deficit with Gulf partner countries increased by 2.61 per cent to $3.450 billion in July-August FY27, compared with $3.362 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
\nPakistan\u2019s exports to the Middle East, however, increased by 7.4pc to $550.045 million during the first two months of FY27, from $512.293m a year earlier. Imports from the region also increased by 3.2pc to around $4 billion, compared with $3.874bn in the same period.
\nAnjum Nisar said the export increase demonstrated that Pakistani businesses could expand their presence in regional markets if they were provided with competitive production costs, efficient logistics, easier access to finance and predictable trade policies.
\nThe BMP chairman said the government and private sector should jointly identify products with strong demand in Gulf markets and develop sector-specific export strategies.
\nGreater attention, he added, was required towards processed food, textiles and garments, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, information technology and other value-added products.<\/p>\n
He said the Gulf should not be viewed merely as a source of energy and imports but as a major destination for Pakistani goods, services and investment.<\/p>\n
He said the country\u2019s export performance in the United Arab Emirates provided an important example, with exports to the UAE rising by 13.6pc during July-August FY27. At the same time, imports from the UAE declined by around 1pc, helping reduce the bilateral trade imbalance.
\nAnjum Nisar said this trend showed that targeted trade promotion and stronger market linkages could produce better results, adding that Pakistan needed to build on such developments instead of relying primarily on traditional export items.
\nHe said the situation with Saudi Arabia and Qatar also required greater attention. Pakistan\u2019s exports to Saudi Arabia declined by 1.7pc during the period while imports increased by 14.7pc, widening the bilateral trade gap. Similarly, exports to Qatar fell by 16.5pc, whereas imports surged by 41.9pc.
\nThe BMP chairman said the figures were particularly important because Pakistan remained heavily dependent on imported energy and raw materials from the Gulf. UAE and Saudi Arabia together accounted for around 90pc of Pakistan\u2019s energy imports from the region, making diversification of exports and strengthening foreign-exchange earning capacity increasingly important.
\nHe said regional geopolitical instability had also demonstrated the vulnerability of international trade and supply chains. Since late February, disruptions in the Middle East have affected shipping, trade routes and commercial activity, increasing the importance of developing resilient and diversified trade channels.
\nAnjum Nisar called for improvements in port infrastructure, customs procedures, road and rail connectivity and digital trade facilitation to reduce the cost and time involved in exports.
\nHe said Pakistani exporters also needed stronger commercial diplomacy, more business-to-business linkages, participation in international exhibitions and greater support in meeting international quality and certification requirements.
\nHe stressed that improving the trade balance with Gulf countries did not mean restricting imports that were essential for the economy. Instead, the objective should be to increase exports sufficiently to create a healthier and more sustainable balance of trade.
\nThe BMP chairman said imports of energy, industrial raw materials and other essential inputs supported economic activity and could not simply be substituted without affecting domestic production. The sustainable solution, he added, was to increase export earnings, promote domestic value addition and broaden Pakistan\u2019s export base.
\nHe urged the government to maintain close consultation with chambers of commerce, exporters and industry associations while formulating trade policies, saying that practical input from businesses could help identify the barriers preventing Pakistani products from gaining a larger share of Gulf markets.
\nAnjum Nisar said Pakistan had a substantial opportunity to deepen economic relations with the Gulf beyond conventional trade by attracting investment, developing joint ventures and integrating Pakistani businesses into regional supply chains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry\u2019s Businessmen Panel (BMP) has called for a focused strategy to expand Pakistan\u2019s exports to Gulf markets, enhance value addition and remove trade and logistics barriers, as the country\u2019s trade deficit with major Gulf partners widened in the first two months of the current fiscal year. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103554,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103544\/revisions\/103554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}