Punjab government is working on a plan to exploit the growing 'One Dollar' consumer market in US and other countries so as to give boost to country's exports.
For this purpose, the government is going to organise, in first or second week of April, an exhibition of those 750 items recently brought from US by Punjab Minister for Industries and Commerce Muhammad Ajmal Cheema.
These products have been made in different countries and "hopefully our industries would meet its landed cost in US dollars," the minister said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of three-day exhibition on 'Plastic Asia 2004' here on Friday.
He said that visitors would be provided with information like manufacturing and duties on the items in question. He told businessmen that anybody who could produce any item, whether it was ceramic, plastic or other material, on price less than 50 cents, should approach his office, and the government would explore market for such product.
He said that the government was committed to promote industrialisation as it creates job opportunities.
About steps taken by the present government, he said it introduced Industrial Policy 2003 after consultation with the stakeholders.
The government also abolished Education Cess, allocated Rs 200 million for rehabilitation of Kot Lakhpat Industrial Estate and Rs 100 million for Multan Industrial Estate.
He said that an Industrial Zone that would also house an Export Processing Zone on 500 acres, garments city (500 acres), was being established at Sundar spreading over 1600 acres of land.
This Industrial Estate would be ready within a year, while the Expo Centre being constructed in Lahore would be ready in two years time, he added.
LCCI chief Anjum Nisar urged the government that duties on import of raw material should not exceed 5 to 10 percent.
He added that this facility would help the entire industrial sector including plastic to grow across the board. However, he said, the raw material available in the country should be protected and 15 percent tariff be imposed on it.
The function was also addressed by Pakistan Plastic Manufacturers Association (PPMA) central president Zakriya Usman, PPMA Punjab chief S M Tariq and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Exhibition, Syed Nabeel Hashmi.