Government urged to set up sector-specific autonomous export promotion companies

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has urged the government to establish sector-specific autonomous export promotion companies with private partnership to tackle the issue of falling external trade which has emerged as a threat and to boost trade, he said.
Talking to Prime Minister Special Assistant on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan, he said previously the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) had the responsibility to look after the exports and help exporters to increase their market share but it failed to do so. Subsequently, a new body, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) was established in 2006, under a Presidential Ordinance, with the same objective but it could not achieve the intended goals, he added.
He said it has become necessary to establish at least 10 new autonomous sector-specific companies with private partnership for each important national export sector including garments, towel, leather garments, surgical goods, sports goods, carpets, shoes, fruits and vegetables and rice.
Each of the company should be responsible to market its assigned commodity in the international market while the Board of Directors of every company may comprise 25 top exporters of the relevant sector, he suggested. Every company shall be responsible for its own branding, value addition, placement, promotion, pricing, packaging, labelling, quality assurance, research, acquiring certifications, standardizations, capacity building and etc to achieve the assigned export targets. The financial requirements of these companies should be fulfilled through Export Development Fund (EDF).