Pakistan Moves To Formalize Gemstone Trade as Panel Cites $2 Billion Export Potential

Officials plan to register undocumented shipments, pushing modern mining to capture an estimated $2 billion.

Overview

The Prime Minister’s Committee on Gemstone Policy reviewed and advanced a roadmap to formalize exports and expand value-added processing on Nov. 21.
Officials reported that nearly half of output is wasted, including an estimated 30–40% loss of precious stones from non-scientific blasting and drilling.
Most stones leave the country in raw form with minimal processing, which the committee said suppresses export earnings.
Actual exports are largely undocumented and are set to be formally recorded, with only about $7 million currently captured in official data.
The committee identified weak investment and limited international cooperation as key constraints and called for modernization to unlock sector growth.