Pakistan’s exports to Italy observed an increase of 46 percent to $1.002 billion during 11 months on a year-on-year basis, thus making Italy the second largest export destination in the European market.
Jauhar Saleem, Ambassador to Italy, has informed the media regarding the embassy’s initiatives for trade, investment, and remittances development, comprising engagement with the host government, business leaders, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and SMEs.
“Italy has become a billion-dollar export market for Pakistan for the first time ever,” he said.
This is the greatest growth rate among all of the country’s export destinations in Europe. Italy comes among the countries where Pakistan’s exports have been expanding remarkably in spite of the tough market conditions due to the Covid health emergency.
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Moreover, Pakistan’s trade surplus with Italy has shown an increase of 84percent within just the last three years, Pakistan had a trade deficit of $148 million with Italy.
The value-added sectors that have proved to be the main driver of growth, produced a trade surplus of approximately half a billion dollars. From a progressively diversified export basket, home textiles, plastic products, rice, leather, general fitness equipment, surgical instruments, and auto-parts have been the top-performing product lines.
Moreover, the embassy has been especially engaging with sourcing firms and investors in order to leverage the pandemic hit circumstances to Pakistan’s advantage regarding enhanced focus of Italian importers on Pakistan, which has always helped stimulate greater business-to-business (B2B) interaction along with the exchange of delegations.
In the recent past, a 10- member delegation from the Italian leather sector visited Pakistan, and in August 2022, another delegation will be visiting TEXPO Pakistan.
Likewise, a 22-member delegation of the Footwear Manufacturers Association (PFMA) is visiting Italy from 11-15 June 2022 while a delegation comprising 35 members from the leather sector will be visiting Italy in September 2022.
In general, Pakistan-Italy commercial cooperation in three major sectors of financial engagement is now worth $2.5 billion, which is the second-highest in the European Union after Germany.
