Exports to China grow just 2% in Jan-Sept

crossed $2.57 billion in the first nine months of current calendar year, up 2% yearon-year, showed data of the General Administration of Customs of People’s Republic of China (GACC). Pakistan Embassy Commercial Counsellor Ghulam Qadir told China Economic Net (CEN) that exports to China were increasing every month on a year-on-year basis and the government was working hard to ramp up exports to enhance bilateral trade and reduce trade deficit.

“We are working with the Chinese partners to shift some of the strategic and priority sectors and manufacturing facilities to Pakistan. Our main target is to produce products and export around the world,” he stated. According to the GACC data, exports to China crossed $182.18 million in September whereas in the same month last year they stood at $257.47 million, which indicated that floods badly hit Pakistan’s exports worldwide. In the month, exports to China decreased by 29% year-on-year due to heavy monsoon-induced floods and Covid-19, which destroyed many sectors including agriculture, infrastructure and industry.

Overall, from January to September 2022, China’s imports and exports to and from Pakistan reached $20.19 billion, up 3% yearon-year, as in the same period of 2021 they were valued at $19.60 billion. According to a Pakistani expert, the bilateral trade potential in all sectors is always high and the business community can take benefit of it. He pointed out that recent floods had devastated Pakistan’s economy because 33 million people had been affected and the agriculture sector had incurred massive losses.

However, “there is still room for increasing trade because China is the second largest economy in the world and a major trading partner of Pakistan”. Major products that were exported to China included rice, zinc ore and concentrates, oilseeds and oleaginous fruits, sesame seeds, pine nuts, seafood and other agricultural products.