Pakistan is one of the ten emerging Asian nations that have gained the most from the Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) over the past 18 months.
The program has supported over 1,900 food and agriculture-related imports valued at $2.3 billion to 10 developing Asian nations, with the majority of assistance going to Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan,
By providing more support through its TSCFP to remove obstacles to the import of food and agricultural items, ADB has increased its assistance in the area to help alleviate the rising food shortages in Asia and the Pacific.
TSCFP has increased risk caps on trade finance guarantees for food imports by $300 million to strengthen its support. When paired with partner commercial bank cofinancing of transactions under the expanded limitations, the support can translate into about $500 million of extra money for food imports in the region.
With the revised restrictions, ADB is now able to accept increased exposure in transactions with its partner banks to finance the purchase of these goods, facilitating commerce in food and goods like fertilizers to support food production. After a year, the new limitations will be re-evaluated.
