LAHORE-Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) Senior Vice Chairman Usman Ashraf has said that at least 10-year long-term policy is indispensable for increasing exports.
He further said that fluctuations in the dollar value, extremely high cost of production, unjustified restrictions by the State Bank and other departments are hampering exports. He said that the statement of the Caretaker Minister of Commerce and Industry Gohar Ejaz to complete the strategic program to increase the country’s exports to 80 billion dollars in 90 days is welcome, but the main problem will be implementation of this program.
He expressed these views while addressing the review meeting held in the office of the association. Chairman of Carpet Training Institute Ejazur Rehman, Senior Central Leader Abdul Latif Malik, Senior Member Riaz Ahmed, Shahid Hasan Sheikh, Saeed Khan and others were also present on this occasion. In the meeting, preparations for the 39th annual world exhibition of handmade carpets were also reviewed.
Usman Ashraf said that due to daily fluctuations in the value of the dollar, the conditions for exports are unfavorable. “The raw materials for hand-made carpets are imported, the cost of which has increased tremendously. The labor costs for partial manufacturing of handloom carpets in Afghanistan and then final manufacturing in Pakistan have become extremely high due to which we are out of competition with our competitors in global markets,” he added.
He said that unfortunately, other departments of the government, including the State Bank, create unjustified obstacles instead of supporting the promotion of exports, which is the major cause of pestering for the manufacturers and exporters. He said that Gohar Ijaz understands the problems of all kinds of industries, so we hope that during his tenure, he will create a mechanism through which the export sector can carry out manufacturing and exports under one system without any hindrance.
He said that the policy of ad hocism cannot increase Pakistan’s exports; therefore, there is a demand that a long-term policy of at least 10 years should be made for this and its approval should be taken in the form of national documents so that no government can come and subject it to experiments again. He said that there is an appeal to the caretaker prime minister and the caretaker finance minister to adopt a strict policy to keep the dollar stable so that uncertainty can be ended. “The caretaker Minister of Commerce and Industry should meet with the associations of export sectors and create a strong mechanism to solve their problems,” he concluded.