Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday asked the government to slap a complete ban on import of luxury items to protect foreign exchange reserves which will also promote local industry, employment, and revenue. Revising regulatory duty on import of luxury and unnecessary items is a good step but authorities can consider a ban on imports as many countries including Iran, Nigeria, and Egypt have experienced the same, it said.
Pakistan is importing eighty thousand luxury cars and thousands of costly motorcycles and countless other items worth billions of dollars which can be banned, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt. The items which are not necessary include whey powder, grated or powdered cheese of all kinds, processed cheese, desiccated coconut, fresh grapes, watermelons, apricots, peaches prunes, apples, tamarind, cherries, pine nuts plums, lychees, raisins and dried fruits, he said.
Moreover, he said, import of betel leaves, beet sugar, cane sugar, white crystalline cane sugar, cocoa powder, potatoes, vegetables, pineapples, juices, soya sauces, tomato ketchup, tomato sauces and mustard flour can be banned. We do not need perfumes, lip and eye makeup preparations, nail polishes, face and talcum powders, face and skin creams, tonics, shampoos, hair creams, hair lacquers, hair dyes, toothpaste, dental floss, shaving creams, ceramics, many electronics etc., he observed.
He said that unabated imports have taken a toll on the local industry while many industries are fighting for their survival including the soap industry providing jobs to over two hundred thousand people and providing Rs 17 billion in the revenue. Shahid Rasheed butt said that increasing regulatory duty on imports or banning imports can only work when smuggling is controlled otherwise all such efforts remain counterproductive. He said that government should inform the masses about the benefits of the trade deals with partner countries before signing new deals.
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