The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint venture of the Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will carry out policy analysis on the competitive advantages of motorcycles in Pakistan.
The CSF also plans to conduct a number of studies on the global competitiveness of selected economic sectors to examine where it exists within the targeted sectors and where it can be improved, said a statement on Wednesday. The first sector selected by the Fund is the growing motorcycle industry in Pakistan. After the automotive, the food processing sectors will be taken up.
Motorcycle industry estimates show that last year a total of over 700,000 units were produced in the country. The industry has been experiencing a healthy growth rate of around 30 percent per year for the past 5 years. It is estimated that production will cross the million units mark by 2008.
To identify the prospects and problems/obstacles being faced by the industry, a high-level delegation from CSF recently visited Karachi and met the key stakeholders. A follow-up visit is scheduled in the first week of September to Lahore for an interaction with the stakeholders there.
Presently, there are 43 motorcycle assemblers in the country, licensed by the Engineering Development Board (EDB). Out of these, there are 3 Japanese assemblers (Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki), while the remaining 40 assemble Chinese motorcycles. These assemblers buy parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies from over 200 large, medium and small vendors located in Karachi and Lahore.