Surgical industry of Pakistan dates back to 19th century when some British doctors got their surgical instruments repaired from the skilled workers of Sialkot and thus it laid foundation to the Sialkot Surgical Industry. The surgical instruments industry is one of the leading industries of Pakistan having capital investment of more than Rs. 20 billion. The sector comprises of over 2300 companies, of which around 30 can be considered large and the remainder can be split as 150 units of medium size and remaining as small. The sector has a wide range of supporting industries such as steel, chemicals, machine parts and a large vendor base and thus it has strong linkages with the other industries in the economy.
Out of the total production, approximately over 95% is exported to USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe & other countries. The surgical industry produces on average over 150 million pieces a year with an estimated value of around Rs 22 billion. Pakistan exported surgical goods and medical instruments worth US$ 339.19 million during the last fiscal year ended on June 30, 2017.
