Top Export Cities in Pakistan

There are many top export cities in Pakistan. In 2021, Lahore based companies exported $4.7 billion, Faisalabad $3.2 billion and Sialkot $2.2 billion. Lahore has a population of 10 million, FSD 4 million and Sialkot 720,000. Great entrepreneurship happen in those cities.

Without prejudice 2nd and 3rd tier cities in all provinces should be facilitated to improve per capita output. Since 1st tier cities have been destroyed (in recent rains besides other reasons) its easier to develop 2nd & 3rd tier cities quickly for economic revival & to reduce internal migration towards 1st tier cities as without infrastructure they can’t handle it. Seems like they are doing a wonderful job. Sialkot has 5,777 registered businesses that contributed to export. Lahore has 2,262 and Faisalabad 956 companies. Seems smaller businesses in Sialkot are contributing well to the economy.

It’s actually quite right to assume above. In Sialkot lot of people are engaged with medical surgical instrument and They are exporting it to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and various other countries in central Asia. In this belt, they are gaining market quite rapidly. They are generating handsome revenue in US dollars which is badly needed by Pakistan especially these days. Where in Sialkot are these factories located? Also, can you pls let me know the names of any surgical goods companies? TDAP can give more information in this regard.

Sialkot deals in sports, surgical, leather garments, hosiery, musical instruments, saddlery and sports shoes etc. Why don’t we explore the markets towards the north west. I mean Afghanistan, Russia, Central Asian Republics? Africa would be a better choice, large population with growing needs. I being with Sialkot industry for more than 25 years knows that all of this has happened with little support from govt. You can get a lot more from Sialkot with little help. This is truly remarkable of Sialkot. Should mention karachi as well, also the figure suggests we should be encouraging industries other then textile.

Karachi contributes around 50% towards export. What is the share of Karachi, Hyderabad, Gadoon Amazai, Rashakai in the export of manufacturing sector? Does it include the exports of IT hard and soft exports too? It’s nice but the comparison is not population vs export. Sialkot and Fsd have a history of industrial zones and best sports and textiles in the world. Lahore has a few like Sundar, and populated with official people. Reason is Sialkot export are mostly value added goods, Lahore too. Unemployment is less than 2% here almost 6000 registered exporters, 4000 production units, highest per Capita income in Pakistan, it was the only city in entire world worked in peak covid. Privately owned int’l Airport, still they’re losing 20 million due to govt policies.

Let’s not get into Karachi Lahore like debate for export. Interloop has 2 units in Lahore with export counted in FSD. Where r exports of Lahore FSD road e.g. NML counted. It’s not about population alone to an indicator of export. It’s the kind of industry, govt facilities, and skilled labor availability. Most of Sialkot’s industry is export oriented, govt facilities r available and no doubt we have a very good skilled labor force there. Sialkot and Gujranwala are the richest tehsils in Pakistan, was shocked to know this, when saw it first time on Discovery. Probably because every house is a mini factory.

Since 2005, SMEDA documents labeled Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat as golden triangle. And they are preparing a policy for this triangle for last 15 years. They just need access to finance. And world class Technical University. And zero intervention from govt agencies. Nederland’s with the population of 17.5 million exported agricultural goods worth more than $100 billion in 2021. Nederland’s agricultural land is over 2 million hectares and Pakistan’s agricultural land is over 22 million hectares. You should also check the amount of imports of the companies of Lahore, which they value added and then exported. Sialkot on the other hand has no imports and all the exports are made from scratch using materials sourced indigenously.

Sialkot has a great potential to generate even more revenue. However, no national government try/tried to put some effort into this one of the export hubs of Pakistan. I hope one day it would get better. Why do you see it in terms of exports only? Lahore is a huge market for Faisalabad and Sialkot made products. You need to check the sector wise exports from each city. Exports from Sialkot is from many sectors. Comparing with population is not the right criteria. The cities you’re referring to are industrial cities and population growth in that cities happened because of industry. This isn’t a case for Lahore.

Sialkot’s big issue is raw material which we import. If we have edge the facility of of local material for sports and surgical industry, definitely we can compete the world and on the other hand we can reduce our import bills too. Lahore is a consumption city. It feeds on the spoils of war and the toil of others. It’s been this way since the city was founded. More population also means more resources required so priorities are different for both. Being a member of Surgical industry I would suggest the concern authorities to build a steel mill around Sialkot, Wazirabad and Gujranwala to fulfill the need of export oriented industries.