Islamabad, September 3, 2026: The Standing Committee on Commerce convened at the Parliament House, Islamabad, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Muhammad Jawed Hanif Khan, MNA. The Committee made several recommendations to strengthen the country’s export sector and emphasized that policies agreed upon with stakeholders should be translated into concrete action and implemented without unnecessary delay.

The Committee took up “the Trade Organizations (Third Amendment) Bill, moved by Mr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar, MNA, (Private Member Bill). While the Committee agreed in favour of the proposed amendments by the Mover it referred the matter to the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Law and Justice for a legal opinion and assessing any implications involved before making a final decision on the Bill.

 

The Committee while taking up a follow up on its previous recommendation on rice sector subsidies took note of the encouraging increase in rice exports, with exports rising from US $321 million to US $394 million as of 30th August 2026, reflecting a significant improvement. The Committee, however, stressed that the positive performance of individual sectors must be converted into a broader and sustained export strategy through research, improved seed varieties, value addition and greater competitiveness.

 

The Committee also raised serious concerns over the country’s overall export performance, particularly the reported decline to US $30.8 billion from US $32.1 billion last year and questioned whether sufficient counter-measures were being taken to protect Pakistan’s market share in the face of subsidized competition from regional economies. the minsiter said major contributor id regional trade. The Committee questioned the effectiveness of trade promotion and facilitation mechanisms and emphasized the need for stronger institutional coordination. Members stressed that Pakistan must move from merely discussing trade facilitation to creating an environment in which businesses could actually compete internationally. The Committee also discussed the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan’s (TDAP) digital transformation and trade-facilitation initiatives.

 

The issue of sugar imports and subsequent disposal was also discussed at length. The Committee sought greater clarity on the policy rationale, financial implications and impact on food security. The Committee further emphasized that export growth required simultaneous attention to quality, accreditation, pricing, quantity and industrial competitiveness, and proposed bringing the relevant ministries and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) together to address constraints affecting export-oriented industries. The Committee also highlighted the need for policy guidelines capable of supporting industrial development, value addition and diversification of the export basket. The Committee called for identification of a few high-potential export products and sectors for focused policy intervention, particularly those with high value addition and strong employment and export potential.

 

The meeting was attended by MNAs, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, Gul Asghar Khan, Ms. Kiran Haider Mr. Khurshid Ahmed Junejo, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Mr. Asad Alam Niazi, Mr. Muhammad Numan, Mr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and Mr. Farhan Chishti. Mr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar, MNA, Mover also attended the meeting. The Minister for Commerce and other senior officers from the Ministry of Commerce and its attached departments were also present in the meeting.