Dealing with export slide challenge: revised package to be announced soon: minister

Minister for Commerce and Textile, Pervaiz Malik Saturday said that a revised package for exporters would be announced soon to enhance the country's exports, clarifying that there will be no relief in tariffs of electricity and gas as well as taxation.
Talking to mediapersons after the inauguration of 'All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Principal Office,' Malik admitted that the Rs 180 billion Prime Minister Package for exporters has failed to achieve the desired results and, therefore, it has been decided to revise the package.
The minister said that the government is going towards tariff rationalization on imports. Intensive meetings have been held with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the government would curtail non-essential imports and enhance exports to move forward. He said that there were rumours of increase in power tariff, adding that the government wanted to give relief in power tariff but it seems difficult.
"We are not going to increase tax incentives but will simplify procedure and improve liquidity to give advantage to exporters in stabilizing cost of production," said the minister.
The government had given concessions to five sectors and still it is trying to make it further streamlined and it would be seen with some new initiative in a few days. The government is also reviewing FTAs like one with China, where imports were very high and exports were low. The government is vigorously pleading with China in this regard. Efforts are underway how to reduce cost of production through some incentives to keep the process moving forward, he added.
Responding to a question, the minister said that according to the condition of 10 percent increase in exports for getting incentives under the previous package, exporters were have to wait for one year to assess the baseline exports. The exporters were thinking that the government is not serious in the implementation of package; therefore, it was decided to rectify such things.
He further said that many other sectors have demanded for their inclusion in the package like pharmaceutical, but the government would go in the initial phase with those sectors covered in the previous package. He said that another step the government is mulling is tariff rationalization on imports. Intensive meetings have been held with the FBR and the government would curtail non-essential imports and enhance exports to move forward.
The Prime Minister is out of the country and he would hold a final meeting after which the package would be unveiled in a few days, he added. Malik said that there is no instability in the country due to current political situation, adding the law is making its way and the government would act if any instability occurs.
The minister said that efforts are afoot to enhance the cotton production by focusing on cotton research in collaboration with the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association. The commerce and textile minister said that exports during the first two months of the current fiscal year (2017-18) increased by 11 percent compared to the same period of the last year. The government wants to increase cotton production and research work as well as technology transfer in collaboration with the industry.
Chairman APTMA Amir Fayyaz said that 62 percent of the exports of the country are textile-related. He said that the government has been proposed to come up with exports-led growth policy. Unfortunately Pakistan's exports declined by 20 percent from $25 billion to $20 billion and there is a need to enhance them to $50 billion.
Currently the biggest challenge to country is trade deficit which the government is filling through borrowings. If the government wants sustainable economic development, it needs to focus on exports growth. He said the main reason behind the office shifting from Karachi to Islamabad is to increase the coordination between industry and the government.