KARACHI, Pakistan, June 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan has passed a special order to allow barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia for certain goods, including petroleum and natural gas, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
The government order, called the Business-to-business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism 2023 and dated June 1, lists goods that can be bartered.
Sajid Amin, deputy director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, said Pakistan could gain particularly from oil and energy imports from Russia and Iran without adding to dollar demand.
"While it may not solve currency smuggling, particularly at the Afghanistan border, it can discourage smuggling of goods from Iran, such as diesel, and Afghanistan which is hurting the economy," Amin added.
In May, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association complained that up to 35% of the diesel sold in Pakistan had been smuggled from Iran.
Persons:
Sajid Amin, Amin, Pakistan's, Musadik Malik, Malik, Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad, Simon Cameron, Moore, David Holmes
Organizations:
Ministry of Commerce, State, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Reuters, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, Thomson
Locations:
KARACHI, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia