Separate business strategy for Sialkot demanded

Sialkot is an important economic centre and the only city of Pakistan where 99 percent items are produced and exported to various parts of the world. Thousands of small and medium enterprises situated in and around the city are engaged in honouring international commitments for export of value-added quality goods.
Through these exports, small and medium industries are earning foreign exchange amounting over US one billion dollars yearly and strengthening the national exchequer.
Sialkot-made footballs, field hockey sticks, cricket gear and boxing gloves are used in international games including Olympics and World Cup. It may be mentioned that surgical and sports goods industries are the oldest industries playing a tremendous role not only in strengthening national economy, but also in providing employment opportunities to hundreds of people.
Most of the developed countries are importing surgical instruments from Sialkot and everyday, hundreds of surgeries around the world are performed using the instruments made in the city and thus the products are playing a silent but significant role in healing of wounds and fighting diseases world-wide.
Surgical manufacturers are producing about 100 million instruments annually including disposable items, which constitute 60 percent and reusable instruments 40 percent of the exports. The industry is also producing dental instruments, veterinary, pedicure and manicure, tailor scissors, barber-saloon and beauty saloon scissors.
Almost 74 percent production of the surgical instruments produced are being sold to 10 different countries, 29 percent to USA, 14 percent Germany and nine percent United Kingdom and remaining 26 percent to the rest of the world. The industry is enjoying monopolistic position because none other can produce surgical instruments in the price range and variety offered by the sector. Keeping in view the export culture and craftsmanship, there is great need of a "separate business strategy" for Sialkot to enable it play a significant role in earning maximum foreign exchange for the country. Despite several internal problems like high tariff of power, gas load shedding and increase in petroleum prices as well as law and order situation, local exporters and manufacturers are fulfilling their international commitments to keep the national economic wheel moving.
Expressing his views, Ghulam Mustafa Choudary of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry underscored the need of formulation of a separate business plan for Sialkot for enhancing productivity and bringing innovation in the products, aimed at enhancing the export volume.
Industrial technology has improved production line world-wide but due to lack of funds, our industrial sector is lagging behind as without the support and co-operation of government, tracking of local industrial sector on modern production lines is impossible, he said.