90% of Pakistan’s $12B Gold Market Runs Underground, CCP Demands Urgent Reform

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan devours 60–90 tonnes of gold yearly — a staggering $8–12 billion — yet over 90% vanishes into the black market, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) exposed in its bombshell Gold Market Assessment released Wednesday. The CCP warned that zero documentation hides the real size, kills oversight, and fuels smuggling, tax evasion, and distorted pricing driven by weddings (70% demand). Official gold imports just $17M in FY24, reserves 64.76 tonnes. Reko Diq is coming to flood the market — 17.9M ounces over 37 years worth $54 billion from 2028 — but without urgent refining, hallmarking, and regulation overhaul, it will drown in the same informal swamp. Fragmented regulators (Commerce, FBR, SBP, TDAP, PGJDC), sky-high compliance, dead hallmarking, and SRO 760 suspension keep smuggling alive. Pricing still ruled by Karachi/Lahore associations in smoke-filled rooms. CCP demands: one unified regulator, mandatory hallmarking, digital tracking, gold banking like Türkiye — or Pakistan will keep bleeding billions in the shadows.