Pakistan’s export-led growth strategy took a step forward on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met a group of leading industrialists and businesspersons in Karachi and urged them to help shape the policies needed to drive the country’s exports higher. According to Sharif’s office, the meeting was intended to consult business leaders directly on how best to promote sustained, export driven economic expansion.
The engagement comes as Pakistan continues along a long path toward economic recovery under a seven billion dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund, with boosting exports and attracting foreign investment central to that effort. Welcoming the delegation, the prime minister said the purpose of the meeting was to gather their input on strengthening export performance across the country.
Why Pakistan’s Export-Led Growth Depends on Business Confidence
Sharif told the delegation that the government is taking effective steps to promote business activity and improve the ease of doing business in Pakistan. He said reducing the cost of energy remains among the government’s top priorities, with further steps already underway to bring energy costs down for industry.
The delegation that met with the prime minister included a broad cross section of Pakistan’s business leadership, among them Mian Mansha, Arif Habib, Saqib Shirazi, Atif Bajwa, Muhammad Ali Tabba, Samad Dawood, Ashraf Mukati, Shahid Surti, Asif Pir, Aamir Ibrahim, Javed Bilwani, Siddique Bhatti, Fawad Anwar, Khurram Mukhtar and Yousuf Hussain. Their presence reflected the scale of the government’s outreach to industry as it seeks buy-in for its export focused economic agenda.
Strengthening the Trade Facilitation Board
Sharif also used the meeting to express his determination to turn the recently established Trade Facilitation Board into a strong and effective institution for promoting trade. He said suggestions from the business community would be welcomed to make the board’s performance and scope more effective going forward, positioning the body as a central mechanism through which exporters could raise concerns and shape trade policy.
The delegation was briefed on the government’s broader initiatives to improve the economy and support business, trade and industrial activity. The prime minister directed officials to pursue immediate measures aimed at delivering lasting solutions to the problems facing the business community, and also ordered a review to extend the exemption from the super tax currently available to exporters.
Oil Price Volatility Threatens Export Competitiveness
Separately on Tuesday, Pakistan’s top commerce body, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to take immediate measures to shield the country’s trade and economy from the impact of volatile global oil prices, warning that rising energy costs could undermine export competitiveness at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
The warning came amid renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, now in their sixth month, which have disrupted energy supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The situation has been made worse by a wave of Houthi attacks on oil facilities and utilities in southern Saudi Arabia. In energy markets, Brent crude rose 1.5 percent to 98.48 dollars a barrel, its highest level in around six weeks, while benchmark US crude surged 2.5 percent to 93.79 dollars a barrel, roughly 40 percent higher than it was in late February, before the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran.
Industry Calls for Relief on Fuel Levies
Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said he was gravely concerned about the pressure that volatile global oil markets were placing on Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability. He warned that successive global oil shocks, combined with high domestic levies, were undermining the country’s export competitiveness and raising the risk of widespread industrial closures.
He said rising prices for high speed diesel and furnace oil were significantly inflating inland logistics costs, supply chains, electricity generation expenses and manufacturing overheads, causing Pakistan’s flagship export sectors to rapidly lose ground against regional competitors. To help shield the economy and industrial sector from these external shocks, the federation proposed a multi pronged response, with an immediate suspension of the Petroleum Development Levy for export oriented manufacturing standing as its foremost demand. The federation described this measure as an essential financial buffer needed to preserve the country’s foreign exchange earnings as Pakistan works to keep its export-led growth strategy on track amid an increasingly volatile global energy market.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, September 9th, 2026
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