Islamabad — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a set of relief measures aimed at supporting exporters and reviving industrial activity, including reduced electricity costs and cheaper financing for the export sector.
Addressing leading exporters and business representatives, the prime minister said the government is moving from economic stabilization toward export-led growth, with a focus on easing cost pressures faced by industry. The package includes cheaper electricity for exporters and a cut in export refinance rates to improve competitiveness in global markets.
The prime minister announced that industrial wheeling charges have been reduced by Rs. 4.04 per unit, bringing the cost down from Rs. 12.55 to Rs. 8.51 per unit. He added that the government has also decided to further reduce wheeling charges by Rs. 9 per kilowatt hour to strengthen industrial competitiveness.
In addition, industrial electricity tariffs have been lowered by Rs. 4.04 per unit, with plans to reduce power costs by up to Rs. 10 per unit in the future, he said.
Cheaper financing and exporter incentives
As part of the relief package, the export refinance rate has been cut by 300 basis points to 4.5 percent from 7.5 percent. The prime minister said the reduction is intended to provide affordable credit to exporters operating in price-sensitive international markets.
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He also announced the introduction of blue passports for top-performing exporters, valid for two years, to facilitate international travel and ease business operations.
Economic context
Recalling recent economic challenges, the prime minister said Pakistan had faced high inflation and a policy rate of 22 percent, but government measures have brought inflation down to single-digit levels, with the policy rate now at 10.5 percent.
He said Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default after negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and noted that foreign exchange reserves have doubled in recent months, supported largely by assistance from friendly countries including China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Despite improvements in macroeconomic stability, the prime minister acknowledged that poverty and unemployment have increased and that exports remain largely stagnant. He said high electricity tariffs and elevated interest rates continue to undermine exporters’ global competitiveness.
The prime minister stressed that economic growth must be driven by the private sector and said the government aims to lower direct taxes to support industry while continuing strict collection of indirect taxes.
Earlier, awards were presented to exporters for their contributions to the national economy.
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