The Union of Small & Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has received complaints from SME industries that various Chinese goods, ranging from footwear to caps, are finding way into Pakistan and damaging the local industries. The SMEs are facing hardship, as they cannot compete in the prices at which China is selling items of general merchandise, namely stationery, garments, electronic goods and even foodstuffs.
Unisame members complained that most of the goods are smuggled through the silk route and Afghanistan and if the government does not take steps to check the influx, the local industries will not be able to survive.
Zulfikar Thaver, President of Unisame asked the authorities to survey the markets and gather information to take immediate steps to halt smuggling. He suggested that the government should impose dumping duty on items of general merchandise and fix a standard for the imported goods so that cheap Chinese goods, having poor quality, are not imported by merchants who want to make a quick buck.
He said that the footwear industry has been badly affected and likewise the stationery, cosmetics and garment industries are in turmoil and need help.
It is pertinent to note that many industries of footwear, garments and general merchandise are being closed down resulting in further unemployment.
Unisame members called upon the government to set up units of downstream industries and employ this class of laid off employees on an urgent basis.
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