TCP to push G2G agri, pharma exports
The federal government has decided to expand government-to-government (G2G) exports of non-traditional Pakistani products to earn foreign exchange. For the first time, a chairman from the private sector has been appointed to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Following this appointment, the federal government has entrusted TCP with the key task of selling commodities and pharmaceuticals at the global level to boost exports.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, TCP Chairman Asim Siddiqui said TCP will now export agricultural commodities and medicines worldwide on a G2G basis. He added that TCP has initially set a target of $5 billion in agricultural and pharmaceutical exports over the next five years. Siddiqui said that during 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of National Food Security agreed on an export target of $1.5 to $2 billion for agricultural products.
He said that, for the first time, TCP will operate on the model of an international trading company, providing importing governments with assurances of a reliable food supply chain. Responding to a question, the TCP chairman said TCP will no longer play any role in determining prices of sugar, wheat, rice and urea, adding that the federal government is considering deregulating sugar prices.
He said that after recent government-level rice exports to Bangladesh, an official plan to export hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Pakistani rice has also been shared with the government of the Philippines. Similarly, the Russian government has contacted TCP for the purchase of Pakistani commodities.
Siddiqui said G2G agreements will be signed with various countries for the export of commodities and pharmaceuticals from Pakistan, and that export agreements with African governments are also likely to be finalised soon for the first time. He added that, in the future, the services of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation could be used for transporting G2G export consignments. Exports through TCP will operate under supply-and-demand dynamics and the open market mechanism.