Dubai (TDI): Pakistan’s planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal urged local companies, taking part in the 31st Gulfood expo in Dubai, to expand their export footprint and shift toward higher value-added products; a move he described as crucial to ending Pakistan’s reliance on foreign debt.
The globally renowned Gulfood exhibition, running from January 26 to January 30 in Dubai, brought together over 8,500 exhibitors from 195 countries, showcasing more than 1.5 million food and beverage products across 12 sectors.
Pakistan marked its largest participation ever at the event, with 142 companies displaying products ranging from rice and pulses to beverages, meat and poultry; underlining the sector’s growing export ambitions.
Addressing participants at the Pakistan Pavilion, Iqbal emphasized that expanding exports and promoting value-addition were the only sustainable paths to break the country’s recurring cycle of foreign borrowing.
“If we are to permanently free ourselves from reliance on the IMF and foreign debt, there is only one way forward – promoting and expanding our exports,” he said, while praising exporters’ increased focus on value-added products.
Pakistan’s economy has historically been marked by boom-and-bust cycles, securing 22 IMF bailouts since 1958, and is currently navigating an economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF program secured in September 2024.
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Against this backdrop, the participation at Gulfood, particularly in premium and processed categories, is being seen as part of a broader strategy to diversify market reach, especially in the Gulf and Middle Eastern markets, which remain significant destinations for Pakistani food exports.
Of the 142 exhibitors, 67 are supported by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) while 75 are participating independently, spreading across four thematic pavilions: rice, pulses and grains; world food; beverages; and meat and poultry.
Notably, 30 rice exporters at the Pakistan Pavilion reinforced the country’s position as one of the world’s leading rice suppliers.
Iqbal also visited the Pakistan Pavilion’s Biryani Festival installation, lauding the initiative to spotlight Pakistani basmati rice and cultural cuisine as part of the nation’s export identity.
He reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to uplift private-sector productivity, quality and innovation to ensure that “Made in Pakistan” becomes a global hallmark of excellence.
