Pakistan Slashes Port Qasim Export Fees 50% in Bid to Revive Trade, Lure Ocean Carriers
The announcement was made at a meeting of Pakistan's Maritime Affairs Ministry on Monday, as the federal government implements a broader reform agenda aimed at strengthening the country's maritime sector and facilitating economic growth via improved port operations.
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'The government's reform agenda in the maritime sector, including the charge reduction at Port Qasim, signals a strong commitment to supporting the business community, enhancing trade facilitation and promoting economic development across coastal regions,' said Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Pakistan's federal minister of maritime affairs, during the meeting.
Chaudhry said the cuts are vital to 'empowering exporters and encouraging local industry.'
Pakistan is a significant apparel exporting nation, with both finished apparel and textiles representing a combined 55.2 percent of the country's total exports from July 2024 to April 2025. In that stretch, apparel and textiles increased by 8.4 percent to $14.8 billion over the first 10 months of the year prior.
But more recently, these exports appear to have slowed. In April, Pakistan's exports across the category dipped 1.3 percent to $1.2 billion in the month.
Port Qasim is the second busiest port in Pakistan after the Port of Karachi, servicing 52 percent of all imports and exports for the country. Port Qasim has 15 terminals, including two container terminals owned by DP World.
Citing a DP World report, Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News indicated that a 40-foot container exported from Port Qasim typically has an extra fee of 14,430 Pakistani rupees ($50).
The decision also comes more than a month after Pakistan and India cut off trade and transit with one another in the wake of a terrorist attack in the bordering south Asian countries' Kashmir region.
Both countries closed their airspace to each other, and recently extended their suspensions to July 24. But out on the ocean, both countries have banned imports of goods that have transited through the other country's ports as well.
The reciprocal restrictions to seaport access have posed a hindrance for ocean carriers that resulted in increased freight rates for exporters, as well as shipping delays.
Vessels looking to make direct calls at Port Qasim or the Port of Karachi would be turned away from Indian ports like Mundra or Nhava Sheva, effectively forcing the carriers to choose one country over the other.
This became more of a problem for Pakistan than India, as large container ships visiting Pakistan carry up to 70 percent Indian goods, according to the Pakistan Ship's Agents Association—incentivizing carriers to instead prioritize India's ports on their regular routes.
As a result, many container shipping companies have since left the Pakistani ports including Qasim outside their own service routes. They have adjusted by redirecting cargo to transshipment hubs like Colombo Port in Sri Lanka or the UAE's Jebel Ali Port, and establishing feeder service lines from those ports to Pakistan.
The ocean carriers accompanied these adjustments with additional surcharges, with companies like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM tacking on hundreds extra in fees to pick up and handle containers out of Pakistani ports.
Such charges are costly for exporters throughout the country, making the 50-percent cut a decision that could incentivize more businesses to export cargo out of the gateway, while enticing the carriers to pull back on their extra fees.
Even before the drama with India started, Pakistan's ports had operated at only 50 percent of their capacity, according to the Maritime Affairs Ministry.
In February, the ministry approved a national maritime policy for 2025 that will stay in effect until 2047. The policy includes the introduction of the Pakistan Maritime Port Act, aimed at standardizing regulations across all ports, as well as a plan to establish a national dredging company to oversee the expansion of the country's ports.
Like India, Pakistan is seeking to become a more influential maritime power with the modernization of its national ocean carrier, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
For 2025, the ministry set a target for the sector to generate 100 billion Pakistani rupees ($352.6 million) in profit.
During Monday's meeting, officials briefed the participants that the ship recycling industry had generated a revenue of 6 billion Pakistani rupees ($21.1 million), reflecting the growing potential of maritime industries in the country.
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