KARACHI: Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia increased by 31 percent to a record of $563.47 million in the outgoing fiscal year (FY23) that ended on June 30, according to data shared by the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh.
The exports to the Kingdom were boosted by the sale of rice which stood at $106.68 million, followed by meat and edible meat that increased from $46.8 million to $82.73 million, according to the official data.
Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia were recorded at $429.52 million in the previous year.
“Pakistan has achieved record level of exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the last fiscal year, FY23, to over $563 million for the first time,” Azhar Ali Dahar, the trade and investment minister at the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh, told Arab News on Sunday.
Dahar believed the quantum of export of the Pakistani-origin goods was about $1 billion, including the goods that were exported via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries through land routes.
The trade minister said the growth was achieved through various trade-facilitation measures for the promotion of Pakistani products in the Kingdom.
“The registration of Pakistani companies for the export of halal meat with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) was a major step taken by the trade mission during 2020-2023,” he said.
Pakistani authorities in Saudi Arabia also contributed to the lifting of a ban on fisheries-exporting companies from Pakistan and the registration of fisheries establishments with the SFDA for exports, according to the official. The efforts to promote Pakistani mangoes in the Kingdom through online home delivery by Pakistani startup, Qareeb.com, yielded positive results.
The export of information and communication technology (ICT) goods and services increased from $19 million to $28 million since 2020, according to the data.
“Participation of Pakistani companies in more exhibitions like Saudi Build, Foodex, Saudi Halal Expo, LEAP and Global Health as well as the participation of more Pakistani companies in ICT/digital tech after LEAP event also played key role in the export growth,” Dahar said.
The Pakistani mission was moved to safeguard the trademark name of basmati rice from Pakistan “which was wrongly registered as ‘Kernal’ with an individual Saudi importer in 2020,” he shared.
The removal of a ban on hatchery eggs from Pakistan by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) was also one of the key achievements which led to the export growth, according to the official. The Saudi market for Pakistani goods is worth more than $1 billion.
“Pakistani exporters are coming to Saudi Arabia in large numbers to explore business opportunities that will help boost further exports from Pakistan, including that of IT,” Dahar said.
During the outgoing fiscal year, the South Asian nation imported goods worth $4.2 billion, including $2.9 billion worth of petroleum oils from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as compared to $5.1 billion worth of goods imported in the previous year, the official data suggested.
Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s most important trading partners in the world. The Kingdom is home to more than 2 million Pakistani expatriates, making it the largest contributor to remittance inflows to the South Asian nation.
