Three-month border closure cripples Pakistan’s $200m medicine exports to Afghanistan

Pakistan’s export of medicines to one of its biggest markets - Afghanistan - has suffered due to the longest suspension of trade through land routes in recent history, in the wake of worsening of security in border areas along with the Durand line.

Afghanistan remains one of the single largest medicine export markets for Pakistan. It is worth $150 million to $200 million, which comes to around 35% of the country’s total medicine export around the world, according to Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).

Talking to Business Recorder, PPMA’s former chairman Dr Kaiser Waheed noted that Torkham and Chaman borders have remained closed for around three months now – since October 2025. “This has resulted in halting medicine-laden trucks on the borders, giving serious financial losses and disrupting cash-flows at the domestic pharmaceutical firms,“ he said.

“I would say Pakistan is not about to lose the market, but it has lost the market, putting a big question mark whether the country can maintain momentum towards sustaining growth in pharmaceutical exports and touch the $1 billion mark in overseas market sales in the ongoing fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26),“ he said.

If exports had not been suspended and outstanding growth in exports had maintained the momentum, Pakistan would have touched the $1 billion mark in medicine export in FY26. The exports would have been even higher if medical devices, surgical, nutraceuticals, and food supplements were to be included, he projected.

His comments come with the backdrop of the Pakistan government calling on the pharmaceutical industry to enhance its competitiveness and increase exports, aiming to capture a larger share of the $2.5 trillion global market.

And the government’s decision to deregulate the pharma industry did provide it with a boost.

The former chief of the pharma association said Pakistan was exporting a whole range of medicines including for chronological illness and playing a big role in managing the healthcare system in Afghanistan. It was exporting medicines for diabetes, hypertension, heart issues, depression, pain, cold, cough and fever, and more.

Waheed said Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports growth hit a two-decade high in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, securing fifth position among the fastest-growing export categories in the country, with sales of locally produced medicines rising to $457 million in overseas markets in FY25.

The export of therapeutic goods – including pharmaceuticals, surgicals, food supplement, medical devices and nutraceuticals – came in at $909 million in FY25, just $91 million shy away from the $1 billion mark.

He argued that pharma exports remain a highly technical subject. It takes a firm about four to five years to get itself and its medicines registered in an export market.

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“Losing the Afghanistan market means a serious setback in exports to us. It will be hard to find alternate markets immediately. It may take significant time, in case trade remains suspended going forward,” he said.

He estimated that Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports in rupee terms would have have been much higher than the formal exports of $150 million to $200 million a year, as the government allows traders to purchase medicines from local markets for Afghanistan in addition to official trade between the two countries.

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“There are no official numbers available as to how big pharma export was in rupee terms. One can only guess it was three to four times of the official exports.”

He also said some pharma firms had established their offices and sales teams in Afghanistan for export purposes. The firms lost such infrastructure as well in the wake of the prolonged border closure.

He said some firms have managed to export medicines of nominal value via air, as there operates only a weekly flight between Islamabad and Kabul.

He also added that the closure of the border is understandable and that national security comes first.

Now reports suggest Iran, India and Bangladesh are establishing contracts and supplying medicines in Afghanistan, as the prolonged absence of required medicines could create a health crisis in the landlocked state. Russian medicines may also hit the Afghanistan markets via Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, he said.