Abdul Ghani

Copper and cotton yarn topped Pakistan’s exports to China during the first five months of 2025, as overall bilateral trade between the two countries expanded to USD 10.68 billion.

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) available with Wealth Pakistan show that Pakistan shipped USD 1.67 billion worth of goods to China between January and May 2025. Copper and cotton yarn continued to dominate Pakistan’s export basket.

Refined copper and copper alloys remained the single largest export item, bringing in USD 260 million. Cotton yarn, other than sewing thread and containing at least 85% cotton, ranked second with USD 178 million in shipments.

Other major exports included unrefined copper and copper anodes for electrolytic refining (USD 103 million), oilseeds and oleaginous fruits (USD 52 million), zinc ores and concentrates (USD 32 million), iron ores (USD 32 million), rice (USD 32 million), frozen fish (USD 31 million), copper waste and scrap (USD 30 million) and chromium ores (USD 21 million).

On the other side of the ledger, Pakistan imported USD 9.62 billion worth of goods from China during the same period, representing a 15.9% increase from USD 8.3 billion the previous year. Overall bilateral trade between the two countries rose 4% year-on-year from USD 9.43 billion in early 2024 to USD 10.68 billion in early 2025.

“Copper and cotton yarn account for a substantial share of Pakistan’s exports to China,” an Islamabad-based trade analyst told Wealth Pakistan. “Pakistan needs to diversify into higher-end textiles, engineering goods, IT services, and processed food to capture greater value in the Chinese market,” he added.

Analysts see opportunities for Pakistan to deepen its market presence in China. Value addition in copper exports, improved branding of rice and fish, and expansion into emerging sectors such as IT-enabled services and processed food are among the key recommendations.

Credit: INP-WealthPk