Arsalan Ali

Pakistan exported goods worth $29.125 million to Kazakhstan during the first four months of the current financial year. Bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Kazakhstan reached $30.944 million during July-Oct FY23. The two countries are expected to sign a transit trade agreement that would help increase bilateral trade volume, WealthPK reported.

Trade volume between Pakistan and Kazakhstan stood at $165.575 million in FY22 compared to FY17 and FY12 when it was recorded at $42.061 million and $6.816 million, respectively, showing an upward trend, which is expected to accelerate further after the signing of the agreement as the trade potential between the two countries is much higher.

Kazakhstan Ambassador to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin said Pakistan and Kazakhstan are expected to sign a transit trade agreement soon. This will help speed up bilateral trade between the two countries. From January 2023, Kazakhstan's national airline SCAT will begin operations in Pakistan’s major cities, including Islamabad and Karachi.

The ambassador said direct flights between Pakistan and Kazakhstan will enhance relations between the two countries. During the first four months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s exports to Kazakhstan were at $29.125 million and imports were at $1.819 million, with a trade surplus of $27.306 million.

Data from the UN COMTRADE database on international trade shows that agricultural and pharmaceutical products are the two main commodities being exported from Pakistan to Kazakhstan. During 2021, Pakistan’s major exports to Kazakhstan were cereals worth $127.27 million, edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruits, melons worth 50 million, oil seeds, oleagic fruits, grain, seed, fruits worth $9.21 million, pharmaceutical products worth $2.51 million and edible vegetables, and certain roots worth $1.51 million.

Syed Anas Mateen, Research Associate at Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), told WealthPK that Pakistan has great potential for exporting OTC (over-the-counter) drugs to Kazakhstan. He said Pakistan just exported $1.5 million worth of OTC drugs to Kazakhstan, while Kazakhstan imported $781 million worth of such drugs in 2021, which is 0.1% of the total such imports by the Central Asian country.

According to a TDAP report, trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan falls short of its true potential, which can only be achieved when the logistic network between the two countries is improved. The report shows that trade routes between Pakistan and Kazakhstan travel along the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) Highway that goes through Afghanistan to Kazakhstan's Almaty Kapshagay Highway.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk