PakistanAgriculture Economy and Policy 4

($184 million), milk and milk products ($62 million), and dry fruits ($45 million).

Pakistan’s main agricultural exports in FY 2006/07 included rice ($1.13 billion), fruits

and vegetables ($234 million), fish and fish preparations ($191 million), raw cotton ($76

million), meat and meat preparations ($55 million) oilseed nuts and kernels ($22 million)

and spices ($16 million). Pakistan is a growing market for consumer-ready food products

and FAS/Islamabad is actively facilitating increased U.S. participation in the retail sector.

Agricultural Trade with the United States

The volume of agricultural, fish and forestry trade between the United States and Pakistan

during CY 2007 totaled $410 million. Agricultural exports from the United States to

Pakistan totaled $355 million, while exports from Pakistan to the United States remained

at about $55 million.

Duties on Agricultural Products

Tariffs range from 0 to 25 percent and will be reduced further under a long-term plan to

rationalize the duty structure. The GOP levies surcharges on certain items, including

vegetable oil, to protect the domestic industry. Revenue collection remains problematic

due to, for example, a narrow tax base. As a result, the GOP finds it effective to collect

sales and income taxes on imports upon arrival.

SPS and Regulatory Systems

Pakistan is in the process of developing an sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory

system compatible with international standards. A new regulatory agency, the National

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (NAPHIS), is being established for this

purpose. The Plant Protection and Quarantine Department and the Office of Animal

Husbandry Commissioner under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock

(MINFAL) are responsible for SPS issues.

The Pakistan Pure Food Laws (PFL) of 1963 are the basis of the existing trade-related

food quality and safety legislative framework. These laws cover 104 food items falling

under nine broad categories: milk and milk products, edible oils and fat products,

beverages, food grains and cereals, starchy food, spices and condiments, sweetening

agents, fruits and vegetables and miscellaneous food products. The regulations address

purity issues in raw food and as well as additives, food preservatives, food and synthetic

colors, antioxidants, and heavy metals.

Pakistan has been known to establish SPS barriers without reference to either accepted

international guidelines or to any risk assessment methodology.