President Union of Small & Medium Enterprises (Unisame), Zulfikar Thaver has urged Federal Commerce Minister that the trade policy should aim at facilitating traders and make conducting of business hassle free. Thaver emphasised the need for regular smooth supply of raw materials and in this connection urged the MINCOM to strengthen the secondary imports by substantial quantities to be imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).
He called for ensuring supply of raw material to the SME industries, the victims of monopolistic tendencies of the very big importers and added the role of TCP should be to keep reserves of plastic, paper, chemicals, metals and other raw materials to maintain the supply.
The other very important aspect is the export of manufactured goods and in this connection Unisame has requested the commerce minister to enable the SME industries to compete and this can be done by reducing the cost of production and providing affordable logistics, according to a statement issued here.
The Unisame has proposed the establishment of the Institute of Materials Management on national level to manoeuvre procurement, supplies, warehousing, marketing and logistics on an appropriate scale. "This institute should be included in the Trade Policy as it is the responsibility of the state to educate, support, encourage and promote the SME sector' Thaver suggested.
Affordable and smooth flow of inputs along with appropriate marketing of products was essential to materialise the priority, government accorded to the sector, he added.