Chief Executive, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Tariq Iqbal Puri, informed business community that Preferential Tariff Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Indonesia is likely to be singed by the end of this month.
Speaking at a meeting of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) here on Monday, he said that the singing of this agreement would help Pakistan reduce its palm oil import bills substantially, because Pakistan would be able to have a cushion of 10 percent in imports of edible oil.
He further said that Indian delegation led by Commerce Minister would visit Pakistan in February for follow-up meetings on ongoing deliberations on liberalisation of two-way trade. Puri made it clear that Most Favoured Nation (MFN) statue to India was yet not effective and a final decision in this regard would be made after consultations with the trade bodies.
He informed that the issue of EU Economic Package would be resolved soon, as meetings with the countries opposed to the package have been held and their reservations have been removed. He promised that he would arrange a meeting of stakeholders led by S. M. Muneer with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Federal Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh for release of stuck up refund claims.
He said that so far an amount of Rs 3.7 billion had been disbursed among the exporters against the refund claims and he would try his best for release of the rest of the claims. He said that future meetings of Export Development Fund (EDF) would be held in consultations with the stakeholders. Puri said that women Expo was being organised in UAE this year in order to give international exposure to the women entrepreneurs.
TDAP Chief urged upon the exporters to book stalls of Expo Pakistan scheduled to be held from October 4 to 7, 2012 at Karachi Expo Centre as soon as possible as the late entries may not be able to get space due to rush. He said that the economic slow down particularly the crisis in EU has adversely impacted exports world-wide including Pakistan.
He said that India had to devalue its currency by 25 percent due to the crisis. He, however, said that export of non-traditional items had shown encouraging results, as it increased by 25 percent during first five months of current fiscal year. The patron in-chief of KATI and President Pak-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, S. M. Muneer said if the government resolves power and gas crises on emergency basis, the exporters would take exports to over $30 billion next year.
He said that the situation had become extremely worrisome as factories were being shut down due to power and gas crises. He warned that if the gas crisis was not resolved the situation would worsen further. Muneer pointed out that the unabated smuggling of livestock was also negatively affecting leather sector's exports. He demanded of the government to take measures for curbing smuggling of livestock to Afghanistan and Iran.
He suggested to the CEO TDAP to hold meetings of EDF after consultations with stakeholders. He appreciated the efforts of Tariq Puri for resolving the exporters' issues. Chairman KATI, Ehteshamuddin, requested the TDAP chief to support and facilitate a visit of a trade delegation of plastic sector to India for market access. He urged TDAP to promote export of non-traditional items on priority basis. Chairman KATI's Standing Committee on Exports, Danish Khan, suggested the government to evolve an export policy for at least 5 to 10 years.