Raza Khan

Pakistan’s exports to African countries surged by 5.55% during the first seven months (July-January) of the current Fiscal Year 2022-23, reports WealthPK.According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports to African countries rose to $798 million during the first seven months of FY2022-23 from $756 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Exports managed to register a positive growth during July-January period despite a decline of 7% in the country’s overall exports during the period under review. The country’s total exports were recorded at $16.499 billion during the July-January period of the current fiscal year as against $17.739 billion during the corresponding months of FY2021-22.

Kenya remained Pakistan’s largest export destination in the African continent during July-January, with an export volume of $135.42 million, registering 40.84% growth against the same months of 2021-22 when the export volume was recorded at $96.15 million.

Exports to South Africa recorded $122.75 million during the first seven months of 2022-23 as compared to $112 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, with an increase of 9.59%.

Despite a decline of 18% in exports, Egypt registered as the third largest market for Pakistan in Africa during July-January period. Exports to Egypt recorded $80.57 million during the period under review as against $66.10 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Exports to Tanzania grew by 53.25% during the first seven months of FY2022-23 and rose to $51.83 million from $33.82 million in the same months of the last fiscal year. In January 2023, exports to African countries were recorded at $101 million compared to $99 million in the corresponding months of 2021, with a decline of 2%.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s top exports destination in Africa includes Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, Egypt and Nigeria. According to the data, exports to most of the top destinations in the African Continent are increasing over time, which indicates that Africa’s top economies are becoming attractive for Pakistani exports.

According to the PBS, top exports to the African countries are cereals, cotton, wadding, made-up textile, sugar, confectionery, man-made staple, salt, sulphur, beverages, spirits and vinegar, pharmaceutical products, optical photographic, plastic paper and paperboard, machinery, miscellaneous chemical and toys.

Pakistan imports tea, coffee, crude oil, iron, steel, inorganic chemicals, cotton and textile products from the African region. Kenya is the largest source of tea import for Pakistan in terms of quantity as well as value. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Pakistan imported tea worth over $480 million from Kenya in 2021.

According to a study of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Africa is rich in natural and mineral resources and is called the world’s storehouse of strategic raw materials. Lack of information, mutual understanding, business interaction, connectivity and people-to-people contact between Pakistan and African countries are the reasons for low economic relations and trade.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk