Pakistan’s exports have remained stuck between $25 billion and $30 billion for nearly two decades, with the Ministry of Commerce telling lawmakers that high taxes, expensive energy, costly financing, and structural weaknesses continue to hurt the country’s export competitiveness.
The issue came under discussion during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce, where members questioned why exports have failed to gain momentum despite the government’s Uraan initiative, which aims to raise exports to $60 billion.
Aliya Kamran, who moved the calling attention notice, said that more than a year and a half after the launch of the Uraan programme, meaningful export growth has yet to materialise, raising concerns over the effectiveness of current policies.
In its briefing to the committee, the Ministry of Commerce identified several challenges facing exporters, including what it described as an anti-export bias in the tax regime, limited access to financing, high energy costs, and weak trade facilitation measures that add to compliance burdens and transaction costs.
Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul told lawmakers that improving competitiveness and productivity were the two key requirements for boosting exports.
He said competitiveness could be improved by lowering the cost of doing business through affordable energy, cheaper transport, easier financing, and a supportive tax framework.
Paul acknowledged that Pakistan’s commitments under the IMF programme restrict the government’s room to cut taxes, but said reducing the burden on exporters remained crucial for improving competitiveness.
He told the committee that, ideally, exports should face zero taxation.
The commerce secretary also stressed the need to improve productivity across industries, saying firms must become more efficient if they are to compete effectively in international markets despite structural constraints.
The discussion comes as the government continues to project the Uraan initiative as a central part of its economic strategy. However, the ministry’s own assessment suggests that meeting the $60 billion export target will require deeper reforms aimed at reducing business costs and improving the overall environment for exporters.
