Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) has set up laboratory facilities to issue required certificates to promote the exports and meet the challenges of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
It is a mandatory requirement as the WTO agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SSPSs) conditions allow all the countries to protect their human, animal and botanical lives by issuing regulations and standardisation certification of the products which are used.
The second board of management meeting, held here on July 10, was apprised of the progress and the increase in facilities at various PCSIR laboratories in connection with consumer rights protection and export promotion.
The reports by different laboratories portrayed increased capacity to face the challenges of the export promotion by enhancing the capability of certifications of merchandise for the export from Pakistan.
The capacity to analyse dyes, pigments, pesticides, fertilisers, inorganic chemicals, pollution in air, water, certification in respect of marine resources, drugs and pharmacology, calibration of scientific equipment and incubation of technology is claimed to be in a sufficient position.
Not only various tests can be carried out, but they are also able to sell the indigenous developed technology that is meant to meet the challenges of the WTO on non-tariff barriers, the SSPSs conditions.
Various other tests as per requirements of overseas buyers can also be carried out by internationally certified laboratory complexes here.
PCSIR Karachi complex Director General S. Naeem Mehmood welcomed the board members and gave a detailed account of the progress achieved so far for the certification of the export merchandise.
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Vice-President and Incharge WTO Resource Centre Engr. M.A.Jabbar, who is also member of the board, appreciated the developments in the complex, included an increase in the testing facilities, which would enable the domestic manufacturers to test their products in the International Standards Organisation (ISO) accredited laboratories.
Those developments would further help in ensuring the quality of the imports against the approved specifications between buyers and sellers, he said, adding the consumers' rights would also be secured by testing the products before sale in the domestic market.
Engr. Jabbar said the government of Pakistan was showing serious concern to enhance and further build the capacity to face the challenges of globalisation.
The 2004 Federal budget and the last year's trade policy were confirmation of the efforts the government is employing.
He suggested the PCSIR should take up the issue through Minister In-charge and Chairman, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, for co-ordination with the Ministry of Commerce so that the resources of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Commerce were clubbed together for productive utilisation to face the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and the SSPSs imposed by overseas buyers as a policy of their country.
Engr. Jabbar said the present difficulties, faced by seafood, textile and other exporters, requiring certifications, could be served by the type of equipment and knowledge which the PCSIR was already equipped with and was in the process of further upgradation.
The private sector must interact with the PCSIR to bring it to its knowledge any new standards introduced in the countries of imports for food, textile made-ups and consumable goods so that the PCSIR could come up with the necessary enhancement procedures for certification of new standards, he said.
Engr. Jabbar said the different centres in the Karachi complex of the PCSIR would further develop through the expenditure of the promised Rs 1.297 billion, committed by the government over a certain period of time for industrial linkage programmes.
He said out of that quota, the PCSIR already acquired modern test equipment and was in the process of securing, more sophisticated equipment.
The type of tests required in the overseas markets were further possible if the hi-tech lab equipment is imported, which added with the knowledge of the PCSIR engineers and scientists will further help.
There is all the hope that the tests, required by overseas buyers, will not need to move to other countries as the PCSIR has the certification for 17,025, which will put great strain on the buyers to accept the test results of the complex certified to have state of the art and international standardised facilities.