Federal Minister for Commerce, Humayun Akhtar Khan has presented a business friendly and export-oriented 'Trade Policy' for Pakistan wherein adequate incentives have been provided to the textile sector, however, there is enough room for improvement".
These ideas were expressed by Sheikh Muhammad Ayub, Chairman All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), while talking to newsmen.
Dwelling at some length over the salient features of the new Trade Policy, APTPMA chief recollected that whereas trade deficit had touched an alarming $06billion mark during the tenure commencing October 1999 to June 2005, the current account deficit touched of $1.5 billion.
"As a sequel to the ever-increasing oil prices in the international market, the deficit kept on mounting as we were constrained to import wheat, fertilisers and sugar to the tune of billions of dollars, which had created extremely unfavourable conditions for our national economy," he added.
During the fiscal year 2004-05 the exports were recorded at $14 billion while imports during the same period exceeded $20 billion. The drastic measures adopted by govt to combat the situation were really commendable, he observed.
Sheikh Ayub reiterated that the special package of incentives provided to the textiles, leather and garment sectors was really unprecedented and epoch-making, especially the withdrawal of withholding tax on spinning, dyeing, printing, embroidery and services sectors would considerably reduce cost of production and enable them to withstand the WTO challenge.
Besides, grant of permission and provision of funds to Pakistani embassies abroad for utilising services of foreign marketing executives, appointment of honorary consul generals in potential markets, periodic conferences of Pakistani ambassadors in Gulf, East-Europe and Far-East, and re-orientation of EPB were positive measures bound to bring tangible results.
Likewise, the grant of subsidy for installation of a chain of retail shops in foreign markets for the sale of Pakistani products and merchandise too was a right step in the right direction. While establishment of a major Customs Centre in Balochistan for export to Afghanistan and rationalisation of the list of Afghan transit trade would also bring the desired results, contended APTPMA Chairman.
There still remained a lot to be done, eg curtailment of electricity, gas and water rates for export-oriented industries to render their products competitive in the international export market during the forthcoming era of globalisation. Rationalisation and zero-rating of import duty on textile products and raw-materials would discourage smuggling and indiscriminate import of cheap unwanted commodities, but the menace of smuggling could be cured only with a stern hand through strict administrative and punitive measures, he concluded.