President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has said that Shikarpur has the potential to become a hub of agro-based industries. "Shikarpur can become an important city as different industries are established there under the economic corridor, he said, citing that once Shikarpur was one of the most developed trading centres and had been called Paris of Sindh where international banks had branches but decades of neglect ruined it. However, he was of the view that attention of the government could help this city reclaim lost glory and again become a developed city.
"Presently, Shikarpur has twelve textile units, twenty-eight rice mills, fourteen units that produce beverages, twelve pickle producers and one edible oil factory," he said, adding that there are hundreds of shops of pickles while many women make it in homes and sell it.
The PBIF president said that Pakistanis like achaar (pickle) very much while many in foreign countries are also fond of it hence its exports could be increased significantly if the government supports the idea. "The pickle manufacturers are facing problems like standardisation, certification, training, inadequate finances etc., due to which India has been able to beat Pakistan in the international market," he said. Mian Zahid said that Shikarpur also lacks an industrial estate which should be established in consultation with the Shikarpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries while infrastructure should also be improved.
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