Chemical and Dyes Industry Chemical and Dyes Industry
Chemical industry in Pakistan is widespread, and a close approximation of investment in chemical sectors ranges between Rs. 550 - 600 billion. The chemical related imports constitute about 17% of the total import bill. There are three general classes of products in this Sector:
Basic chemicals both inorganic and organic such as acids, alkalies, salts, ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylene etc
Chemical products used in further manufacturing i.e. intermediates such as pure Terephthalic acid, phthalic anhydride
Finished chemical products for end use or ultimate consumption; synthetic fibers i.e. polyester, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene etc
The Structure of Pakistan's Trade
Import & export of chemicals of Pakistan is depicted below:
Above graph shows the consolidated figures for imports & exports such as chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, rubber, medicines, dyes & pigments, soaps & detergents, and specialty chemicals for the period from 2002-03 to 2008-09. Imports have increased from 768 Million US $ in 2002-03 to 5,166 Million US $ in 2008-09 and on the other hand our exports also showed an increase from 118 Million US $ in 2002-03 to 411 Million US $. Share of chemicals in our total imports is about 15% while its share in exports is about 2.3%. The total imports of plants and equipment used for the manufacture of chemicals contributes about 23% of overall imports of Pakistan.
Collective share of these two categories i.e. plants/equipments and chemicals is about 38% of country's overall imports and among major contributors of country's imports.
The structure/composition of Pakistan's exports of chemicals for the year 2008-09 is depicted below:
Plastics stand top export with a share of 41.6%. Second is pharmaceutical with a healthy share of 28.3%. Third largest one is of specialty chemicals contributes about 18.2% of which perfumes & cosmetics 2.6%, coatings & inks 3.5%, dyes & pigments 1.4% and other specialty chemicals share is around 10.7%. Inorganic chemicals have comparatively very low exports of 4.5% while Pakistan have significant surplus available for exports of most promising products in this sub-sector such as soda ash, caustic soda, chlorine, calcium chloride, bleaching powder etc. Petrochemicals share is about 4% in which major contributors are phthalic anhydride, dioctyl orthophthalate etc. soap & detergents contributing about 3.4% while share of fertilizers is 0.1%.
Traditionally, exports from Pakistan have been dominated by textiles, cotton, ready-made garments and leather products. These comprise about 60% of total exports from Pakistan, and are predominantly manufactured by low technology and labor intensive processes.
Above graph shows the consolidated figures for imports & exports such as chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, rubber, medicines, dyes & pigments, soaps & detergents, and specialty chemicals for the period from 2002-03 to 2008-09. Imports have increased from 768 Million US $ in 2002-03 to 5,166 Million US $ in 2008-09 and on the other hand our exports also showed an increase from 118 Million US $ in 2002-03 to 411 Million US $. Share of chemicals in our total imports is about 15% while its share in exports is about 2.3%. The total imports of plants and equipment used for the manufacture of chemicals contributes about 23% of overall imports of Pakistan. 
