Pakistan's exports to China are expected to further decline in February due to coronavirus outbreak. The expected affects of this situation came under discussion at a meeting held at the commerce ministry.

An official statement says that the global economy and international trade is faced with supply chain challenges amid coronavirus outbreak in China. Pakistan also has significant reliance on China, being the largest trading partner as it sources bulk of its raw material, intermediate and capital goods from China.

To assess any likely negative impact on trade and supply chain due to coronavirus, the Ministry of Commerce held a meeting, where senior officials from the Ministry, TDAP, representatives from Textiles Wing, technical members of the Ministry of Commerce and Commercial Counselor in Beijing (via video link) were present.

Keeping in view the feedback from private stakeholders consultations and an in-house analysis by the Ministry of Commerce and TDAP, the officials deliberated on the possible effects of coronavirus on domestic production and exports by taking into account recent global and bilateral trade trends, possible bottlenecks in supply chains, availability of stocks and supply of raw materials and intermediate goods.

The Commercial Counselor, Beijing, apprised the participants that although there are slight delays in shipments, however, except for Hubei province, normal trading activities are expected to resume in the next 10 days. The Secretary TDAP and representative from Textiles Wing informed that the intermediate goods' stock cover was sufficient for 6 to 8 weeks.

Keeping in view the feedback from all participants, a monitoring and evaluation mechanism is being put in place. The Ministry of Commerce is cognizant of the situation and is keeping a constant eye on the issue.