Web Desk
The federal government of Pakistan has issued a notification for a ‘Business-to-Business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism’ to facilitate trade with Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia. The Ministry of Commerce has also released a notification allowing both state-owned enterprises and private-sector entities to engage in the import and export of goods under this mechanism.
The introduction of the B2B Barter Trade Mechanism follows the approval of a policy by the federal Cabinet aimed at promoting barter trade and enhancing Pakistan’s regional trade.
According to the notification, traders or their authorized agents can submit online applications for authorization of import and export of goods under the B2B barter trade facility through the designated online system to the regulatory collector.
Under the B2B Barter Trade arrangement, the trade of goods will be conducted on the principle of “import followed by export,” ensuring that the value of the exported goods meets the value of the imported goods.
The Ministry of Commerce has identified a range of 26 goods that can be exported to Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia. These goods include dairy products such as milk, cream, and eggs; cereal, meat, and fish products; fruits and vegetables; rice; salt; pharmaceutical products; finished leather and leather apparel; footwear; steel; and sports goods.
For imports from Afghanistan, the government has specified products such as fruits and nuts, vegetables and pulses, spices, minerals and metals, coal and related products, raw rubber items, raw hides and skins, cotton, and iron and steel.
From Iran, Pakistani importers are permitted to import fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices, minerals and metals, coal and related products, petroleum crude oil, LNG and LPG, chemical products, fertilizers, articles of plastics and rubber, raw hides and skins, raw wool, and articles of iron and steel.
Regarding imports from Russia, Pakistani traders will have the opportunity to import items such as pulses, wheat, coal and related products, petroleum oils including crude, LNG and LPG, fertilizers, tanning and dyeing extracts, articles of plastic and rubber, minerals and metals, chemical products, articles of iron and steel, and textile industrial machinery.
The B2B Barter Trade Mechanism aims to promote bilateral trade and strengthen economic ties between Pakistan and its neighboring countries, opening up opportunities for mutual benefit and regional cooperation.
