Key sectors: CCP establishes CECL to conduct research

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) significantly stepped up its market research in 2025 by releasing competition assessment studies across critical sectors, including insurance, power, gold, pesticides, steel, LNG, road infrastructure, sugar and fertilizer.

To strengthen evidence-based policymaking, the CCP has recently established a Centre of Excellence in Competition Law (CECL) to conduct in-depth research across key sectors and support legal and regulatory reforms.

The CECL is currently undertaking studies on the automobile industry, civil aviation market, solar energy market, cement sector, and the impact of mergers in the telecom sector, which are nearing completion. A comprehensive CCP report on the State of Competition in Pakistan’s Insurance Industry highlighted key issues, including low insurance penetration, limited outreach, and fragmented legal and regulatory framework and barriers to entry.

READ MORE: CCP suggests creation of autonomous ‘Gold & Gemstone Authority’

The report noted that Pakistan’s insurance penetration stood at 0.87 percent, compared to a global average of 6.7 percent, and emphasized the need for reforms to promote competition and consumer welfare.

The Commission’s maiden Competition Assessment Study of the Gold Market in Pakistan provided the first evidence-based analysis of a sector dominated by informality and pricing opacity. The study highlighted that over 90 percent of gold trading occurs outside formal channels and underscored the potential impact of the RekoDiq copper-gold project on domestic supply chains. The CCP recommended setting up Gemstone and Gold Regulatory Authority to streamline the gold market.

In addition, the CCP issued studies on the pesticide, steel, and LNG sectors, identifying structural, regulatory, and enforcement gaps affecting market efficiency. The pesticide report highlighted Pakistan’s heavy reliance on imported agricultural chemicals, the prevalence of counterfeit and substandard products, regulatory bottlenecks, and weak enforcement impacting farmers and crop yields. The LNG study identified monopolistic dominance of state-owned enterprises, restricted private sector participation, infrastructure access constraints, and the impact of circular debt exceeding PKR 2.8 trillion on market competition. The steel sector report outlined competition challenges and policy reforms needed to improve efficiency and market outcomes.

The Commission also issued a Competition Assessment Study of the Fertilizer Industry, identifying barriers to competition across production, distribution, and retail segments in a sector critical to agricultural productivity.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025