Islamabad (Commerce Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed three key committees to reduce reliance on the IMF and promote an export-oriented economy. Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb is leading the Governance Committee focused on economic growth, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal heads the committee for increasing exports and FBR tax revenue, while Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar leads the Legal Committee to ensure compliance with FATF targets.
A report from the Planning Ministry highlighted serious challenges in increasing exports. According to the report, Pakistan’s export competitiveness is under constant pressure, with high energy costs, a complex tax system, policy inconsistency, and regulatory burdens being the main obstacles. Rising and unstable energy prices are increasing production costs for industries, affecting manufacturing, agro-processing, minerals, fisheries, and services, leading export orders to shift to other countries.
Additionally, the overall cost of doing business remains unusually high due to the complicated tax system, tariff structures, advance income tax deductions, delayed sales tax refunds, and trapped working capital. These issues are particularly challenging for small and medium-sized exporters. Policy inconsistencies are also harming investor and buyer confidence, with frequent changes in taxes, energy rates, tariffs, and export incentives negatively impacting production, planning, and export orders.
Institutional fragmentation, regulatory burdens, limited access to affordable finance, and high interest rates are further obstacles to export growth. Logistics and trade facilitation challenges have also emerged as significant barriers, which the committees aim to address promptly to boost exports.
