Pakistan posts 64% growth in exports to Qatar post blockade, says official

Pakistan has recorded a 64% surge in exports to Qatar from July 2017 to January 2018, according to an official at the Embassy of Pakistan in Doha.Commercial secretary Salman Ali, who spoke at the ‘Pakistan-Qatar Business & Investment Opportunities Conference’ held in Doha yesterday, said Pakistan witnessed an “export quantum” seven months after an economic blockade was imposed on Qatar in June last year.Citing figures from the State Bank of Pakistan, Ali said Pakistan exports to Qatar in July 2017 stood at $5.66mn and increased to $8.74 in January 2018, “exceeding the $8mn mark for the first time since May 2012.”He said Pakistan’s major exports to Qatar include rice, red meats, fresh fruits, vegetables, cotton and fabric of all types, leather and all its articles, cereal straw and husk, and fish and its products.“Besides a policy of self-reliance, Qatar views Turkey, Iran, Oman, and Pakistan as the long-term source of food and other supplies,” Ali noted during his presentation.  On Pakistan’s current strategy to facilitate exports, the products in focus are construction materials, pharmaceuticals, processed/frozen food items, raw chicken and meat (frozen/chilled), dairy items, including UHT milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, food packaging materials, light engineering and electrical goods, defence exports, sports goods, textiles, and services.On Pakistan’s export performance compared to other countries in the region, Ali said: “Other regional countries had a comparatively much bigger export footprint in Qatar. Many products from the region have flooded the market in Qatar but Pakistan’s logistic advantage and international position eventually gives it a competitive advantage not rivalled by any other country in the region.”Ali also said some of the Pakistani products “successfully introduced” in the Qatari market since the blockade include Menu Frozen Food (Season’s Food); Olpers UHT Milk, Cream and Ghee (Engro Food); biscuits and candies (Hilal Food); packaging material by M/S Packages and M/S Afeef Packages; ketchup and juices for the hospitality sector by Shangrila Limited; steel piping products by International Industries Limited and electrical cables by Pakistan Cables; and ketchup, mayonnaise, and sugar by M/S Soya Supreme Group.