Stakeholders have welcomed a new idea floated by Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry to set up a ‘maritime chamber of commerce and industry’ so that all players in this sector were brought on one platform. Speaking at the Pakistan Business Council Forum in Karachi on Saturday, the minister said the new chamber would promote the blue economy and enhance environmental sustainability a
US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would double steel and aluminium import tariffs to 50 per cent from next week drew ire from the European Union Saturday in the latest salvo in his trade wars aimed at protecting domestic industries. The EU warned it was “prepared” to retaliate against the latest tariffs, adding the sudden move “undermines ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated sol
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) will assist Pakistan in enhancing its capacity for precision agriculture by establishing a centralised knowledge management system at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad. This initiative aims to implement and promote precision agriculture practices that will contribute to climate resilience in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. Under the project, a comprehensiv
Amid falling local production, the cotton import bill swelled by 114 per cent in the first 10 months of FY25 compared to the last year. From July to April, the cotton import bill soared to $2.545 billion, compared to $1.189bn during the same period last year. According to data released by the State Bank, the significantly low cotton production has become a burden on the economy, particularly af
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) missed its revenue collection target by nearly Rs1.008 trillion in the first 11 months of FY25 due to slowing economic growth and a drop in imports, which impacted domestic sales tax collection. The FBR collected Rs10.233tr between July and May against the budgetary target of Rs11.241tr. However, the collection is 26 per cent higher than the Rs8.11tr collected