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A UAE-headquartered food multinational is preparing to deepen its presence in Pakistan after channelling approximately $100 million into the country since 2006, underscoring the growing role of Gulf capital in Pakistan's food manufacturing and broader industrial economy.
International Foodstuffs Company (IFFCO), which operates in around 50 countries, has expanded its Pakistani footprint from a single edible oils and fats refinery into two refineries and five manufacturing sites. According to the Pakistan government, the company's activities now span seed crushing, animal nutrition and feed mills.
Senior leadership of IFFCO met Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on September 14 to reaffirm the company's commitment to the South Asian market. IFFCO Global Group Director Abdelghani Abdullah told the minister that Pakistan remained an 'important market' and that IFFCO intended to continue investing and expanding its business. The minister, in turn, pledged government support for existing investors and new investment.
The expansion comes as Islamabad and Abu Dhabi seek to translate longstanding political ties into larger commercial flows. Pakistan's Foreign Office has described the UAE relationship as 'strong, brotherly, built on strong foundation,' with bilateral trade close to $8 billion. Some 2.2 million Pakistanis live in the UAE, forming a substantial diaspora and remittance corridor.
Pakistan has emphasised that its economic relationship with the UAE extends across trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, technology and manufacturing. The Foreign Office has separately rejected attempts to portray the return of matured UAE deposits as a deterioration in ties, calling it a routine financial transaction under mutually agreed terms.
IFFCO's decision to deepen its production base in Pakistan signals a shift in the investment relationship, moving beyond financial support toward long-term industrial activity, local manufacturing and value addition. The group's operations cover edible oils and fats, agriculture, confectionery, dairy, poultry and animal nutrition, giving its expansion potential implications beyond any single manufacturing segment.
The delegation told the finance ministry that IFFCO sees significant opportunities to grow alongside its customers and the wider Pakistani economy. The government, meanwhile, stressed the importance of facilitating existing investors and creating an ecosystem that supports industrial growth, employment and greater local value addition.
The scale of the economic bridge between the two countries was highlighted in May, when Pakistan's Consulate General in Dubai reported that remittances from the UAE exceeded $1 billion in a single month. Pakistani officials have described these flows as a major contribution to household incomes and national economic stability.
For Islamabad, the UAE relationship combines a large overseas workforce and remittance corridor with increasingly important investment, trade and manufacturing links. IFFCO's next phase in Pakistan adds another dimension: Gulf investment moving into productive capacity inside Pakistan, creating jobs, expanding manufacturing and connecting the country more deeply to an international food-production network.
Source: Pakistan TV