Islamabad: Crude food exports in Pakistan increased by 1.62 % to 5.75 billion dollars during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared to $ 4.66 billion in the same period last year.
This increase was primarily driven by higher charges of sugar and basmati rice, despite the challenges of continuous food inflation within the country.
Exports have shown steady growth over the past twenty months, even amid historical levels of enlarged food, especially in sugar, meat and poultry. The government’s policy, which allows the export of 150,000 tons of sugar in June 2024, was overlooked by maintaining stable retailers, with sugar exports reaching 757779 tons by March. However, no sugar exports were reported in March 2025.
Rice exports, while significantly contributed to the growth of the export of the total food, witnessed a 5.91 % decrease in value, as it decreased to $ 2.76 billion in 9MFY25 from $ 2.93 billion in the previous year. This decrease was mainly due to the decrease in the exports of non -Bassemi rice, although the Smiti rice shipments witnessed an increase of 21.78 % in the quantity, reaching 663,980 tons. The value of the Basmati rice exports increased by 8.78 % to 676.96 million dollars.
Non -Bassemi rice exports decreased by 9.87 %, to 2.08 billion dollars, but they saw a slight increase of 0.14 % in the quantity, up to 4.02 million tons. The new markets, including Bangladesh, have opened for Pakistani rice, indicating the possibility of the sector’s growth.
The meat export sector also recorded modest growth, with a 0.99 % increase in the first nine months of the fiscal year 25. This is due to the new market openings, the increase in participation by new companies, and the approval of additional slaughterhouses. Nevertheless, the prices of local meat increased significantly, with the prices of buffalo meat increased from 700 rupees per kilogram to 1600 rupees per kilogram over the three and a half years last year.
However, vegetable exports witnessed a decrease of 17.09 %, mainly due to the decrease in onion, potatoes and tomatoes. Likewise, fruit exports decreased by 5.04 %, while fish and fish products recorded modest 8.15 % during the same period.
These trends highlight the ongoing challenges in the food export sector in Pakistan, with the high local prices that affect local consumption, while export growth continues driven by specific goods such as sugar and basmati rice.
