Commerce Division's expenditure: NA approves two demands for grants of over Rs26.99bn
Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the demands in the Lower House of the Parliament for approval.
The opposition members moved as many as 67 cut motions on these two demands. The finance minister opposed the cut motion. After majority voice voting, the house rejected the cut motions of the opposition.
The finance minister presented 26.949 billion a demand for grant to meet the expenditure during the financial year ending on June 30, 2026; another Rs50 million demand for grant in respect of development expenditure of Commerce Division.
While winding up discussion on cut motions, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan said that the current export of Pakistan stand at $30.3 billion. He said that the government wants to extend the export at $60 billion in next four years by taking measures. He said that government is going to introduce the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2024–30 to enhance export.
The minister said that for this purpose, we have conducted several meetings on 17 sectoral councils with exporters to get their inputs. He said, 'Our policy reflects ground realities and has clear steps to achieve the $60 billion target. We have examined the inputs of exporters within a time frame. We identified challenges in each sector, proposed legal and institutional reforms, and created a clear roadmap.'
He said that the ministry addressed key issues such as production costs, taxation, and monetary policy to make the environment business-friendly.
He announced that Pakistan's commercial attachés abroad have been renamed as Trade and Investment Officers (TIOs), and are now selected through a competitive process involving private sector representatives. 'For the first time, we are launching an Electronic Trade Analysis Portal. TIOs will use the portal to report daily on performance, outreach, and investment opportunities. Their work will be measured through strict KPIs and TORs.'
He stressed that transparency, accountability, and efficiency are now central to trade governance. 'Our export policy is now built on real-time action, not just paperwork.'
About the export of rice, he said that Pakistan recorded a five-year high in Basmati rice exports this year. 'Even with India returning to the market and slashing prices by 15–20 percent, our rice exports held firm at $3.3 billion.'
He said that for the first time, the Commerce Ministry has also appointed a Head of Research to guide decisions based on solid data and market trends. He also stressed that agro-food and food technology has been identified as key export areas. 'We're bringing food tech into our export policy to meet global market needs.'
The minister said that Pakistan achieved $8 billion in agro-food exports last year—its highest ever. 'This came despite falling global demand, dropping interest rates, and inflation now in single digits.'
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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