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4.45. According to UN Comtrade data, Pakistan was a net wheat exporter for most years during the review period, although wheat trade value and volumes were rather volatile (Table 4.7). The authorities state that the volatility is due to the rapid growth of population; natural disasters such as locust infestations, heavy rainfalls, stormy weather, and floods; low-tech infrastructure and R&D; and changes in the price of wheat in the international market. Export of wheat was prohibited from 2020, reflecting domestic shortages due to natural disasters (Section 4.1.2.1.3). (...)

4.55. (...) In 2020, sugar was banned from exportation due to a shortage of sugar domestically caused by a lack of water, climatic change, and rapid growth of the population.

4.58. (...) According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2020-21, the shrinking acreage of cotton reflects the non-profitability of the crop as compared to maize, paddy, and sugar cane. Other factors include pests such as white flies and pink bollworms; climate change, heat stresses, and extreme rainfalls; poor agricultural practices and unnecessary use of pesticides; and high costs of inputs including fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds.

4.61. The Government is trying to boost the production of cotton. The Agriculture Transformation Plan (ATP) aims to amend relevant laws to fast-track release of new cotton varieties with novel technologies. Track and traceability of quality certified seed to farmers has also been initiated, and organic farming started in some parts of Pakistan. (...)

4.73. Fishing within territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles) is under provincial responsibility, while deep-sea fishing is regulated by the Federal Government. The Marine Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Maritime Affairs has the objective of promoting Pakistan's fisheries sector. To achieve this objective and to promote fisheries exports, a number of initiatives are being taken by federal and provincial fisheries departments. They include strengthening extension services, introducing new fishing methodologies, developing value-added products, enhancing per capita consumption of fish, and upgrading socio-economic conditions of the fishing community. Recently, the Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Rules 1990 was amended to cover all aspects of sustainable fishing.

4.75. Pakistan supports the fulfilment of the mandate of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6 and seeks a balanced agreement on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility with appropriate and unconditional policy space for developing countries and LDCs. Pakistan therefore supports prohibition of "harmful" subsidies for overcapacity and overfishing on the principle of polluters-pay and asks for the prohibition of subsidies for large-scale, deep-sea industrial fishing, which it considers to be linked to the depletion of marine fish stocks and truly harmful. At the same time, Pakistan seeks to exempt artisanal, small-scale, and coastal fishing from these disciplines, as they are not considered harmful. Pakistan asks for unconditional (not linked to the fulfilment of other disciplines), appropriate, and effective special and differential treatment for developing countries.

4.76. The authorities state that the prime interest and a distinctive focus of the Government is to fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to prevent overfishing of stocks.

4.85. A National Mineral Policy was adopted in 2013, seeking to (...) ensure that mineral exploitation and production are environmentally sustainable. (...)

4.89. In Pakistan, most of the primary energy supply comes from gas and oil. In FY2018/19, total primary energy supply was 83.8 MMTOE (million metric tonnes of oil equivalent), when natural gas represented the main source of energy (35%), followed by oil (25.8%), coal (15.4%), imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) (10.6%), and hydropower (7.8%). Nuclear power contributed 2.8%. More than 40 million people remain without access to electricity, and half the population lack access to clean cooking facilities.

4.90. Pakistan relies on energy imports due to lack of investment in indigenous resources of hydro, natural gas, and lignite. The Government had decided to stop building new coal-fired power plants to protect the environment; according to the authorities this is not the current policy objective in this area. (...) The Government recently adopted a long term plan to increase power generation capacity, i.e. the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP). The Plan aims to increase the share of renewable energy in power generation (i.e. up to 30% electricity from variable renewable energy sources). Moreover, several large hydropower plants are under construction.