Pakistan’s gold jewellery industry has called on the government to implement long-awaited changes to export regulations, saying the current system—where value addition requirements rise with gold prices—is making Pakistani exporters less competitive.

In a letter to Commerce Minister Jam Kamal, copied to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials, Golden Arts Manufacturers and Exporters of Artistic Gold Jewelry representative Arif Patel said the approved reforms have remained pending for more than three months despite broad stakeholder support.

The industry argues that Pakistan’s jewellery exports have stagnated at just $20-30 million a year, while competing countries have expanded rapidly under more export-friendly policies.

Exporters have identified SRO 760(I)/2013 as the main hurdle, saying it links mandatory value addition to the international price of gold. As gold prices have surged over the years, exporters say they are required to meet increasingly higher value addition thresholds, making it harder to compete in global markets.

To address the issue, the industry has proposed replacing the percentage-based requirement with fixed value addition rates per gram of jewellery. Official records submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce show the proposal was backed by the Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Council, while the State Bank of Pakistan stated it had no preference between the existing and proposed methods.

Although the Standing Committee approved revising the framework in March, exporters say the government has yet to issue the necessary notification, delaying reforms they believe are essential to revive Pakistan’s jewellery exports.