Addressing a recent meeting of executive directors and senior officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), which was held primarily to review the new trade policy, TDAP Chief Executive Tariq Ikram is reported to have laid considerable emphasis on the need for further enhancing trade facilitation to the potential stakeholders, in order to set the pace for optimum exploitation of their latent strength from a number of multi-pronged enabling initiatives.
The decisions reportedly made on the occasion revolve around provision of further incentives to high potential sectors in a selected range. Mention, in this regard, may specifically be made to the focus on development of the web portals of exporters and promotion of marketing through the Internet. Among the targeted sectors prominently figured the pharmaceutical industry, the rice sector in agriculture, besides engineering goods, carpets, and gem and jewellery sectors.
More to this, a marked strategic shift was discernible in the empowerment of women in the area of exports. Notably, with a view further to exploiting the export potential of pharmaceutical sector, the meeting is reported to have proposed to share 50 percent cost of audit/accreditation by the various international health regulatory bodies and bio-equivalence and similar testing in World Health Organisation (WHO) accredited laboratories.
Ambitious as these decisions may sound, it should be heartening to learn that they appear to be backed by a lot of homework already done by the TDAP, which has also worked out strategies to proceed with the task in the desired direction. This has reference to the contemplated steps it would be taking to ensure effective implementation of the proposals. An idea of this may be had from the hints dropped of the manner in which specific proposals would be pursued.
This should become clearly evident from the TDAP programme of holding frequent consultations with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and Rice Exporters' Association of Pakistan (Reap) to produce qualitative Japonica rice for export.
Again, to arrest the decline in the export of carpet, its expectation of implementation by the Ministry of Commerce through a notification to allow the import of semi-finished carpets on temporary basis under the customs SRO 1065, can be viewed as confidence-inspiring.
The same can be said about the revelation made on the occasion that TDAP had been working with the Ministry of Commerce to look into the promotion of exports of engineering goods and that it had proposed an inland freight subsidy for transportation of export-destined goods.
As for induction of women entrepreneurs in export promotion in a big way, realistic should appear the authority's ongoing efforts further to develop a common facilitation centre, technical workshop and industrial plots.
Hence, the meeting's decision to submit the proposals in this regard to the Planning Commission for the PSDP funding on completion of PC-I. Similarly, while contemplating various measures for development of gem and jewellery sector reference to strong likelihood of revision of value addition for export of gold and jewellery should appeal to reason too. All in all, the TDAP's thrust for a realistic approach to boost export will be found confidence-inspiring on various counts.