Ores and Metals Exports and Imports in Pakistan

The category Ores and Metals comprises of commodities defined in Standard International Trade
Classifications, (SITCs), Section 27; Crude fertilizers, other than those of division 56, and crude minerals
(excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones), Section 28; Metalliferous ores and metal scrap, and
Section 68; non-ferrous metals. In 2014, Ores and Metals export as percentage of merchandise export
was recorded as 1.8; whereas the imports as percentage of merchandise imports is reported as 3.26 % in
the same year (Trading Economics, 2016).

The graph below shows the trend in Ores and Metals export with World.

The graph below shows the trend in Ores and Metals imports with World.

The increase in imports of iron & steel and iron and steel scrap during 2014-15 can be contributed to
increase in construction activity in the country. (Trade and Payments, 2016)
Using the available data on Comtrade we identified the major Ores and Metal trading partners of
Pakistan namely as China, United Arab Emirates, USA, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The graph below shows
trade volume with the major trading partners over the years.

Trade Volume
1.4E+10

1.2E+10

1E+10

8E+09

6E+09

4E+09

2E+09

0
1990 2000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

United Arab Emirates China USA Saudi Arabia Kuwait

As the graph shows, trade has grown steadily with all major partners with China in the lead. To get a
complete picture of trade we must look at imports and exports separately. The graph below shows that
USA is a major exporting partner, followed by China, UAE, KSA, and Kuwait.

Exports
4.5E+09

4E+09

3.5E+09

3E+09

2.5E+09

2E+09

1.5E+09

1E+09

500000000

0
1990 2000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

United Arab Emirates China USA Saudi Arabia Kuwait

 IMPORTS
1.2E+10

1E+10

8E+09

6E+09

4E+09

2E+09

0
1990 2000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

United Arab Emirates China USA Saudi Arabia Kuwait

The graph above for imports of Ores and Metals shows that major importing partners has changed over
the years. Initially in 1990s USA accounted for most imports. From 2000-13 UAE accounted for major
imports and recently in 2014 China has overcome UAE for imports of Ores and Metals. Pakistan is a net
importer of Ores and Metals.