Pakistan Moves up the Value Chain With Cigarette Exports

Pakistan has earned at least $6.28 million from cigarette exports over the past 11 months, reports Pakistan Today.

Although Pakistan has long exported leaf tobacco and raw materials to various countries, this was the first time that the country exported finished products, a step that experts believe would help the country capture more markets and earn better returns in the future.

According to government data, there was zero export of cigarettes in fiscal 2019, whereas negligible quantities of some tobacco products were exported in 2018, 2017 and 2016, amounting to $50,000, $92,000 and $78,500, respectively.

An official attributed the increase in imports to improved quality. At the request of customers in the Gulf, manufacturing plants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa upgraded the quality of their tobacco, paper, filters and packaging.

Over the past 11 months, Pakistan collectively exported tobacco worth $38.12 million, which included $15.26 million kg of tobacco and 720,000 kg of cigarettes.

Major tobacco export destinations include South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.