Pakistan is to cut the import duties on many of its products in a bid to boost the economy and escape the cycle of boom and bust the country has been plagued with in recent years.

Commerce and investment adviser Abdul Razak Dawood said in an interview with Bloomberg that duties on imported raw materials being used by the Asian nation's manufacturers will be further reduced or eliminated in this year's budget.

The news came after levies on more than 1,600 products were already removed last year to make businesses more regionally competitive.

Mr Dawood said he hopes this will see shipments from Pakistan rise significantly after a long period of stagnation and begin to emulate those of its neighbours like Vietnam and Bangladesh.

He also expected that a free trade agreement with China could raise overseas shipments.

More than half of exports from Pakistan are textiles and around a third of products leaving the nation go to the European Union.

In autumn 2018, Pakistan raised its import duties on 5,000 items, including cars, high-end mobile phones and jewellery, but this is a tactic the country now seems to be moving away from.