High production cost termed as major hurdle for exports

It is impossible to achieve the exports target this year as the country has lost major foreign markets due to high cost of production and lack of incentives for manufacturers and exporters. This has been stated by Khawaja Muhammad Jalaluddin Roomi, former Punjab Minister for Industries and Ex-President of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI).
He said the government could easily achieve the exports target and could maintain trade balance by taking steps to reduce utility tariff, burden of taxes and cost of production. Khawaja Roomi said Pakistan's exports were unlikely to touch $18 billion mark, nearly 19 percent lower than the target, by the end of the current fiscal year due to government's inadequate policies and global recession.
The government had fixed $22.1 billion exports target for the current fiscal year, which was a gross overestimation, he said adding that actual exports till the end of April 2009 were recorded 12.5 percent less than the same period of last fiscal year.
He suggested that the government should consider the proposals submitted by different chambers and associations on procedure and modalities for the hedge fund being created to support exporters and utilities. He proposed some drastic changes in the forthcoming trade policy and called for incorporating recommendations of all stakeholders to make this national document result-oriented.
Khawaja Roomi said a meeting with the businessmen representing all major trade organisations and chambers should be held in Islamabad in next few days to give the trade policy a final shape and get wide support for the policy. He said the government should try to provide a breathing space to industry by offering maximum support and facilitation.
Khawaja Roomi said the government should renegotiate the Afghan Transit Trade agreement, as it should be up to the satisfaction of the business community, which had reservations on this account. He urged the government to improve the mechanism for using Export Development Fund with the help of foreign exchange manual, and that it should be inquired from the State Bank Pakistan that how many new companies were facilitated through this fund.