Introduction
The United Kingdom is one of the strongest economies of Europe. The United Kingdom had been a superpower till the mid of the last century. United Kingdom currency pound sterling is one of the highest-ranked currencies in the world. Countries around the world are interested in doing trade with the UK. Pakistan has been trading with the United Kingdom since the early 1950s. Pakistan has been majorly exporting Textile, apparel, home textile, footwear, rice, salt, etc. to the United Kingdom. The major imports from the United Kingdom to Pakistan are Iron & steel Scrap, Machinery, Pharmaceutical products, etc.
Companies have been shipping from Pakistan to the UK, products on different DDP delivery services. There are different DDP delivery services such as DDP sea shipping, Ddp air shipping, Express shipping, and Amazon FBA.
Volume of trade from Pakistan to the United Kingdom
Volume of trade between United Kingdom and Pakistan is in favor of Pakistan. This means that Pakistan is exporting more product in $ value to UK, than it imports from UK. In the year 2020, the shipping from Pakistan to UK was valued at approx. $ 1.7 Billion. In 2019, the shipping from Pakistan to the UK valued at approx. $ 1.6 Billion. Year 2018, the exports of Pakistan to United Kingdom was valued at approx. $ 1.7 Billion. These figure show that the exports to the United Kingdom has been stable and steady since the last 4 years.
On the other hand, the shipping to Pakistan from UK in the year 2020 was valued approx. $ 600 Million. In the year 2019, the value of shipping to Pakistan from UK was valued at approx. $ 700 Million. In year 2018, the exports from UK to Pakistan has been $ 850 Million. From these above figures of shipping to Pakistan from UK, reflects at diminishing export trend of UK to Pakistan.
Shipping mode for cargo from Pakistan to UK
Pakistan does not have a direct land route with the United Kingdom. So the shipping from Pakistan to UK is done by both Air and sea shipping. Both mode of transportation has its own advantages and disadvantages. In our todays blog we will discuss both mode of shipping:
Air Cargo:
Air cargo is the fastest way of shipping to the UK. Before deciding on whether to use air or sea shipping the buyer must have a complete knowledge of airport and seaport distance . This will help the buyer in choosing a mode of transport may be on the basis of distance from supplier facility or his own facility. Although Ddp air shipping is faster than Ddp sea shipping, but is much costlier also. Buyer prefer Air cargo only when lead time for delivery is short.
Following is the list of Major airport in Pakistan and UK
Major Airport in Pakistan
- Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore
- Jinnah international Airport, Karachi
- Islamabad International Airport, Islamabad
Major Airport in United Kingdom
- London Heathrow Airport
- Manchester Airport
- Birmingham Airport
SEA Transportation:
Sea transportation is the most widely used mode of transportation in the world. The benefit of Ddp sea shipping, is it does not have quantity limitation, as there is in case of Air shipping. UK and Pakistan both have sea ports for handling of cargo. List of major seaport in UK and Pakistan are as follows:
Major Seaport in Pakistan:
- Karachi port, Karachi
- Port Qasim, Karachi
- Gwadar Port, Gwadar
Major Seaport in United Kingdom
- Felixstowe Port
- Southampton Port
- London Port
- Liverpool Port
Shipping method
Apart from the above mode of transportation, there are some other option for shipping from Pakistan to UK. These option are Express Shipping and Amazon FBA.
Express shipping is usually a ddp logistic option that is usually used to transport samples and small quantity product. Express shipping is a bit expensive than sea shipping. FedEx, DHL, TCS are few example of companies offering Ddp delivery service for shipping to UK.
Another option for shipping to UK, is using the facility of Amazon Fulfillment centers. Using this facility, the buyer can send the product to the Amazon UK for fulfillment of order in UK.
Conclusion:
Trade between UK and Pakistan is in favor Pakistan. There are multiple options for shipping to UK. Lot of Pakistani community lives in UK. This makes UK a lucrative export market for Pakistan.