Punjab launches Rs5b pink salt financing scheme

LAHORE  –  Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday launched the province’s first Pink Salt Value Addition Financing Scheme, offering interest-free loans of up to Rs50 million to businesses seeking to process, package and market Pakistani pink salt for international markets. At the launch ceremony, the chief minister distributed cheques among 10 businesspersons who secured loans under the scheme and urged them to develop branded products that could compete globally rather than relying on exports of raw salt. According to a briefing by Provincial Mines and Minerals Minister Sher Ali Gorchani and Secretary Minerals Parvez Butt, the scheme has an allocation of Rs5 billion, while the Punjab government will bear Rs1.456 billion in interest costs to provide interest-free financing. Maryam interacted with the beneficiaries and asked about their value-added products, stressing the need to promote them internationally under the Pakistani brand. “Pink salt is Pakistan’s uniqueness,” she said, arguing that Pakistan supplied the mineral and labour while other countries captured much of the value through processing, branding and marketing. “Pakistan’s pink salt is like gold hidden in the mountains,” she added, calling for greater investment in developing products for international markets. The government has established a 110-acre Pink Salt Processing Unit in Quaidabad as a specialised industrial cluster. The planned Pink Salt Mineral Processing Zone is expected to accommodate 200 value-addition units and create more than 10,000 jobs, while helping increase exports. A model retail outlet has also been set up to promote pink salt processing, branding, packaging and marketing. Officials said the development of value-added products could raise annual exports by up to $300 million. The chief minister said the government would support young entrepreneurs and startups through the financing scheme and help them access international markets. She also criticised past practices in the awarding of contracts, alleging that some had been designed to benefit politically connected individuals at the expense of the national exchequer. Referring to Punjab’s mineral resources, she said the province’s natural wealth, including what she described as “placer gold” flowing through its five rivers, should be used for the benefit of its people.

The businesspersons who received the loans thanked the chief minister and described the financing scheme as a significant step towards promoting the pink salt industry.

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