Pakistan buys 60 to 90 tones of gold annually.
Pakistan has an annual demand of 60 to 90 tones of gold, worth between $8 billion and $12 billion. Yet, more than 90% of this transaction is still undocumented.
According to a study on “Pakistan’s Gold Market” published by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Wednesday, weddings and festivals account for 70% of the country’s gold demand.
Furthermore, Pakistan bought $17 million worth of gold in fiscal year 2024. By the end of 2025, the country’s official reserves were 64.76 tones, or about $9 billion.
According to the analysis, the Reko Diq project could yield 17.9 million ounces of gold, worth about $54 billion at current prices, and generate up to $74 billion in revenue over the next 37 years.
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However, the CCP warned that if urgent reforms are not implemented in the refining, hallmarking and regulating sectors, this precious commodity could potentially become part of the same unofficial system.
The CCP claims that the problems of Pakistan’s gold market include impersonal supervision, interference by many organizations, poor implementation of hallmarking, and high compliance costs, all of which encourage smuggling and unofficial trade.
Furthermore, the regulatory environment has become more unstable as a result of the suspension of SRO 760, which has further hampered the export of jewelry and gemstones.
Due to the absence of an open market mechanism, the country’s this trade is mostly concentrated in major cities like Karachi and Lahore, and daily prices are determined by dealers’ associations.
To regularize domestic gold, the CCP has proposed setting up a single regulatory body, making hallmarking mandatory, introducing modern digital monitoring technologies like blockchain technology, and establishing a gold banking system.
The tax system, labor laws, and data governance will also need to be improved in line with international standards.
