Tobacco exporters meet Jam Kamal
During the meeting, exporters appreciated the government's ongoing efforts to promote trade and highlighted the significant contribution of the tobacco industry to employment, rural development, and export earnings. They shared that with targeted facilitation, tobacco exports have the potential to increase substantially, supporting national revenue goals.
Exporters pointed out that the current tax structure, which includes a Federal Excise Duty (FED) of Rs390 per kg, Provincial Excise Duty (PED) of Rs50 per kg, Federal Tobacco Cess of Rs15.15 per kg, and a Provincial Development Cess of Rs25 per kg totals Rs480.15 per kg. They said this cost poses a challenge particularly for smaller exporters and suggested that a more competitive taxation model would help enhance Pakistan's position in the global tobacco market.
The exporters emphasized that tobacco, like other agricultural commodities such as sugarcane, cotton, and citrus, should be supported through market-based policies. They noted that annual price adjustments are mandatory under current regulations, which can affect competitiveness in export destinations.
Minister Jam Kamal Khan acknowledged the concerns raised and reiterated the government's commitment to balanced and growth-oriented policies. He remarked that optimal revenue generation comes not only from taxation but also from encouraging industry expansion and boosting exports. He noted that similar concerns have also been raised by other sectors, such as beverages, regarding the impact of high taxation on consumer demand and revenue collection.
The exporters also called for the revival of the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) to support coordinated efforts in export promotion and policy facilitation. In response, the Minister proposed the establishment of a Sectoral Council for Tobacco, similar to other existing sectoral councils, to provide a structured platform for industry dialogue and representation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
38 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar steadies after tumble as investors eye imminent Fed cuts
SINGAPORE: A battered dollar edged marginally higher on Monday after a dismal U.S. jobs report and President Donald Trump's firing of a top labour official stunned investors and led them to ramp up bets of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. Data on Friday showed U.S. employment growth undershot expectations in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labour market conditions. Adding to headwinds for markets, Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer the same day, accusing her of faking the jobs numbers. An unexpected resignation by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler also opened the door for Trump to make an imprint on the central bank much earlier than anticipated. Trump has been at loggerheads with the Fed for not lowering interest rates sooner. The barrage of developments dealt a one-two punch to the dollar, which sank more than 2% against the yen and roughly 1.5% against the euro on Friday. The greenback recovered some of its losses against the Japanese currency on Monday, last trading 0.14% higher at 147.60 yen . Still, it was down about 3 yen from its peak on Friday. The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1560 , while sterling eased 0.1% to $1.3263. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up 0.2% to 98.86, after sliding more than 1% on Friday. 'Market reactions to Friday night's events were swift and decisive,' said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. 'Equities and the U.S. dollar tumbled, along with yields.' The two-year Treasury yield fell to a three-month low of 3.6590% on Monday as traders heavily scaled up bets of a Fed cut in September, while the benchmark 10-year yield languished near a one-month low at 4.2060%. Markets are now pricing in a more than 95% chance the Fed will ease rates next month owing to the weaker-than-expected jobs data, with over 63 basis points worth of cuts expected by December. 'We pull forward our baseline call for a 25 bps cut from the FOMC to September,' said David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group. 'While we don't see significant further weakness in the labour market, the results of this report are likely to shift the FOMC's assessment of the balance of risks to the outlook.' In other currencies, the Australian dollar slipped 0.17% to $0.6465, after rising 0.8% on Friday against a weaker greenback. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.24% to $0.5905. The Swiss franc was last little changed at 0.8041 per dollar. Switzerland was left stunned on Friday after Trump hit the country with one of the highest tariffs in his global trade reset, with industry associations warning of tens of thousands of jobs being put at risk.
Business Recorder
38 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Asia shares sideswiped by US economic jitters, oil slips
SYDNEY: Asian share markets followed Wall Street lower on Monday as fears for the U.S. economy returned with a vengeance, spurring investors to price in an almost certain rate cut for September and undermining the dollar. Some early resilience in U.S. stock futures and a continued retreat in oil prices did help limit the losses, but the bleak message from the July payrolls report was hard to ignore. Not only had revisions meant payrolls were 290,000 below where investors had thought they would be, but the three-month average slowed to just 35,000 from 231,000 at the start of the year. 'The report brings payroll growth closer in line with big data indicators of job gains and the broader growth dataset, both of which have slowed significantly in recent months,' noted analysts at Goldman Sachs. 'Taken together, the economic data confirm our view that the U.S. economy is growing at a below-potential pace.' Neither did the reaction of President Donald Trump instil confidence, as the firing of the head of Labor Statistics threatened to undermine confidence in U.S. economic data. Likewise, news that Trump would get to fill a governorship position at the Federal Reserve early added to worries about the politicisation of interest rate policy. Analysts assume the appointee will be loyal to Trump alone, though the president did grudgingly concede that Fed Chair Jerome Powell would likely see out his term. 'It opens the prospect of broader support on the Fed Board for lower rates sooner rather than later,' said Ray Attrill, head of FX research at NAB. 'Fed credibility, and the veracity of the statistics on which they base their policy decisions, are both now under the spotlight.' Markets moved quickly to price in a lot more easing with the probability of a September rate cut swinging to 90%, from 40% before the jobs report. Futures extended the rally on Monday to imply 65 basis points of easing by year-end, compared to 33 basis points pre-data. Markets have essentially already eased for the Fed with two-year Treasury yields down another 4 basis points at 3.661%. They tumbled almost 25 basis points on Friday in the biggest one-day drop since August last year. DOLLAR DENTED The prospect of lower borrowing costs offered some support for equities and S&P 500 futures inched up 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%. Asian share markets, however, were still catching up with Friday's retreat and the Nikkei fell 2.1%, while South Korea dipped 0.2%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan broke the mould and firmed 0.3%. Wall Street has also taken comfort in an upbeat results season. Around two-thirds of the S&P 500 have reported and 63% have beaten forecasts. Earnings growth is estimated at 9.8%, up from 5.8% at the start of July. Companies reporting this week include Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab, McDonald's, Caterpillar and some of the large pharmaceutical groups. The dismal U.S. jobs data did put a dent in the dollar's crown of exceptionalism, snuffing out what had been a promising rally for the currency. The dollar dipped 0.1% to 147.24 yen , having shed an eye-watering 2.3% on Friday, while the euro stood at $1.1585 after bouncing 1.5% on Friday. The dollar index was pinned at 98.659 , having been toppled from last week's top of 100.250. Sterling was more restrained at $1.3287 as markets are 87% priced for the Bank of England to cut rates by a quarter point at a meeting on Thursday. The BoE board itself is expected to remain split on easing, while markets still favour two further cuts by the middle of next year. In commodity markets, gold was flat at $3,361 an ounce , having climbed more than 2% on Friday. Oil prices extended their latest slide as OPEC+ agreed to another large rise in output for September, which completely reverses last year's cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day. Brent dropped 0.6% to $69.24 a barrel, while U.S. crude also fell 0.6% to $66.93 per barrel.
Business Recorder
38 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
US jobs jolt fans Fed rate cut buzz; Indian rupee to ride dollar slump
MUMBAI: The Indian rupee is set to open higher on Monday, riding the dollar's plunge after a weak U.S. jobs data boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates at its September meeting. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 87.18-87.22 range versus the U.S. dollar, up from 87.54 on Friday. The rupee fell over 1% last week to its lowest level since February, pressured by equity outflows and concerns over a 25% U.S. tariff on imports from India. 'The broader trend (on USD/INR) remains bid. While Friday's dollar move is an unexpected turn for dollar longs, dip-buying interest will persist,' a forex spot trader at a private bank said. 'At worst, dollar longs will have to endure a drop to 87.' The dollar index slumped 1.35% on Friday, its worst day since mid-April, after July employment data revealed a notable slowdown in U.S. job additions. Not only did the latest job additions miss expectations, data for the previous two months was revised down significantly. U.S. equities slid, Treasury yields fell and the odds of a Fed rate cut at the September meeting climbed to 80%. The disappointing data comes on the back of a slightly hawkish tone adopted by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the July 29-30 meeting presser, which had provided a boost to the dollar. 'A wholly weak U.S. jobs report has pulled the rug from under Jerome Powell's hawkish stoicism and stopped the dollar's rally in its tracks,' ING Bank said in a note. The bank added that the dollar has likely marked out a near-term peak. Asian currencies climbed on Monday with the Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah leading the way. The dollar index was up slightly following Friday's dive. Meanwhile, the maturity of a $5 billion dollar-rupee buy/sell swap conducted by the India's central bank six months back will be in focus on Monday.
