Trade Services in Pakistan

Full-service international trade for Pakistani importers and exporters - sourcing, customs, freight, warehousing and consulting under one roof. Five services that share documentation, status updates and accountability so you don't coordinate five separate vendors.

What a Full-Service Trade Company Does

Pakistani importers and exporters historically work with a fragmented vendor stack: a sourcing agent overseas, a freight forwarder for the ocean leg, a customs clearing agent at the port, a trucker for last-mile, a separate consultant for compliance work, and a warehouse provider for storage. Every handoff between these vendors is a place where information gets lost, blame gets diffused, and shipments get held.

A full-service trade company collapses that stack into one accountable partner. Same team that vetted the supplier owns the freight, the GD filing, the duty payment and the final delivery. Same dossier follows the consignment from supplier invoice through customs Out-of-Charge to your warehouse floor. Same WhatsApp channel for daily status. One contract, one invoice, one set of SLAs.

Unitec Trade Line operates in this full-service mode for clients who don't want to be their own logistics manager. We also unbundle - if you only need customs clearance or only need freight, that's fine. The five trade services below run together or independently, your call.

Why Work With a Pakistan-Based Trade Company

A Pakistani trade partner has three structural advantages over a foreign forwarder or supplier-side agent that promises end-to-end coverage:

  • Regulator presence. FBR, SBP, MOC, PSQCA, DRAP and PTA officers respond to in-person follow-up. An overseas agent on email is at the back of the queue.
  • Banking and FX literacy. EIF, Form-E, IBAN verification, LC mechanics, advance-payment limits - these are Pakistan-specific and need a partner working with your bank's trade desk.
  • Inland infrastructure access. Bonded carriers, inland dry ports, NLC, ATT corridors, off-dock terminals - all are domestic relationships that take years to build.

Our base in Rawalpindi adds two more advantages on top of those: 20 minutes from Islamabad Dry Port for inland clearance, and 15 minutes from the federal procurement and embassy belt where most public-sector trade is administered.

The 5 Trade Services

1. Import & Export

End-to-end management of international transactions. Supplier sourcing across 50+ countries, negotiation, pre-shipment inspection, FBR / SBP / PSW documentation, and onward delivery to your warehouse. Three pricing models - flat fee, commission or retainer.

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2. Customs Clearance

Licensed agents at every major Pakistani port - Karachi, Port Qasim, Lahore, Sialkot Dry Port and Islamabad Dry Port. WeBOC and PSW filing, HS code classification, duty optimisation, examination handling, 24–48 hr typical clearance.

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3. Freight & Logistics

Sea (FCL / LCL / RoRo), air (deferred / standard / express / charter) and land (NLC, Afghan Transit, bonded carriers). Direct contracts with the major shipping lines and IATA carriers, ICC-A cargo insurance, GPS-tracked trucking.

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4. Warehousing

Short-term, long-term, bonded and climate-controlled storage in Rawalpindi-Islamabad with WMS-tracked inventory and 24/7 manned security. Per-pallet, per-square-foot or per-CBM pricing, transparent and tiered for long-term commitments.

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5. Trade Consulting

Advisory work that sits above execution - market entry strategy, sourcing programmes, FBR / SBP compliance audits, LC structuring and trade dispute resolution. One-time projects, phased programmes or monthly retainer engagements.

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How the Five Services Connect - End-to-End Flow

On a typical import engagement, the five services run in this sequence. Same team coordinates each handoff so you don't have to.

Stage 1
Trade Consulting - for first-time importers, we structure the engagement: HS code planning, duty estimate, supplier vetting strategy, LC vs T/T decision. Skipped for repeat clients with established SOPs.
Stage 2
Import & Export - sourcing, supplier negotiation, proforma invoice review, banking setup (EIF lodgement, LC opening), pre-shipment inspection at the factory.
Stage 3
Freight & Logistics - ocean or air freight booking, marine insurance placement, B/L issuance, real-time tracking with daily WhatsApp updates while the consignment is in transit.
Stage 4
Customs Clearance - pre-arrival GD filing in WeBOC, duty estimate shared so you can fund the wallet ahead of berthing, examination handling if Red-channel, electronic Out-of-Charge.
Stage 5
Warehousing - cleared cargo trucked from port to our Rawalpindi warehouse for short-term hold, distribution staging, or bonded storage if duty deferral is preferred.
Stage 6
Last-mile delivery - pick-pack-ship from warehouse to your factory floor or distribution centre, signed POD, full documentation dossier handed over.

Total typical cycle for a clean Far East FCL: 40–55 days from order placement to door delivery. Air-freight halves this. Express UAE shipments can land in 5–7 days.

Industries We Trade For

Vertical depth in the sectors that move Pakistan's industrial economy:

  • Industrial machinery & plant equipment - CNC, generators, packaging lines, textile, food processing.
  • Automotive & auto parts - OE and aftermarket for the Rawalpindi-Wah-Taxila auto cluster, CKD/CBU coordination.
  • IT hardware & telecoms - servers, networking, fibre, data-centre UPS, PTA-approved equipment.
  • Medical devices & lab equipment - DRAP-aligned imports, calibration, clean-room kits, dental and surgical.
  • Construction materials - tiles, sanitary ware, hardware, decorative panels, electrical and lighting.
  • Solar & renewable energy - PV modules, inverters, battery banks, mounting structures.
  • Food & FMCG - frozen and shelf-stable food, beverages, packaging, with PSQCA / Halal / Plant Quarantine certifications managed.
  • Defense & government procurement - embassy, AFOHS, cantonment-board procurement under appropriate authorisations.

On the export side our active categories are textiles & garments (Faisalabad-Lahore mills), surgical instruments (Sialkot), sports goods (Sialkot), Himalayan pink salt, basmati rice, leather goods, marble and onyx, and industrial chemicals.

Countries We Actively Trade With

Active sourcing relationships across 50+ countries with an aggregate vetted-supplier base of 850+. We don't subcontract sourcing - every relationship is direct, which is why we can stand behind quality and lead-time commitments.

East Asia & ASEAN - China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Middle East & GCC - UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran*, Iraq
Europe - Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Turkey
South Asia - India*, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives
Africa - South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Tanzania
Americas & Oceania - USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand

* Trade with India and Iran is restricted under current Pakistan policy and limited to specific SBP-permitted categories. Every transaction is screened against OFAC, EU and UN sanctions lists.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a full-service trade company in Pakistan actually do?

Manages the complete import or export chain on the client's behalf - sourcing, supplier QC, freight booking, customs clearance, regulatory documentation (FBR, SBP, PSW) and last-mile delivery. The client gets one contract, one accountable partner and one invoice instead of coordinating five separate vendors.

Do I need to use all five trade services or can I pick just one?

Pick what you need. Many clients start with a single service - a one-off customs clearance or a single freight booking - and expand once they see the operating standard. Pricing models scale: flat-fee per shipment, percentage-of-cargo-value commission, or a monthly retainer for clients running multiple services concurrently.

Why work with a Rawalpindi-based trade partner instead of one in Karachi?

Three reasons. Inland clearance at Islamabad Dry Port saves Karachi-side demurrage and 1,400 km of upcountry trucking risk. Federal procurement and embassy work is administered from Islamabad and needs in-person partner presence. The Rawalpindi-Hattar-Taxila industrial belt is on our doorstep, so site visits and QC turnaround are same-day.

Which countries does Unitec actively trade with?

Active sourcing relationships in 50+ countries with an aggregate vetted-supplier base of 850+. Primary corridors are China, Turkey, UAE, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, USA and the wider EU. Restricted-country trade (India, Iran) is handled case-by-case under SBP-permitted categories.

How are trade services priced?

Three commercial structures. Flat fee per shipment (USD 800–2,500 per FCL for end-to-end). Commission of 1–3% of cargo value where sourcing leverage matters. Monthly retainer of PKR 150,000–800,000 for clients running multiple shipments per month. Customs duty, freight, NOC fees and bank charges are pass-through - not part of the fee.

How long does a typical end-to-end import take?

Roughly 40–55 days from order placement to door delivery on a clean Far-East FCL - including 7 days of sourcing, 5 days of banking setup, production lead time, 14–22 days of sea transit and 24–48 hours of clearance. Air freight halves this. Express shipments from UAE can land in 5–7 days.

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