ISLAMABAD: The Commerce Ministry has asked provincial governments to start advance deliberations for the development of provincial export development plans, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
These directions were issued in the meeting of Executive Committee of National Export Development Board (NEDB) under the chairmanship of Commerce Minister Jam Kamal.
Provinces have also been asked that focal committees of provincial government departments may be formed in this regard to be headed by senior provincial ministers.
MoC analyses key reasons behind decline in exports
The MoC and other relevant federal ministries may provide support to provinces. Provincial government departments were also tasked to provide feedback on the consultations held with the sectoral councils to their respective Chief Secretaries.
The Ministry of Commerce gave a review of the decision of the inter-ministerial meeting held in compliance with this directive in which the issues of businessmen were discussed at length. Furthermore, the status of decisions of other issues of the businessmen that were discussed in the NEDB but could not be taken in the inter-ministerial meeting were also shared in the meeting.
The Commerce Minister noted with concern that replies on most of the issues were still awaited from the concerned Ministries. While members of the NEDB are committed to spend their time and efforts for the resolution of the issues of exporters, the response from the concerned ministries/departments is not encouraging. It was also apprised that current status had also been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office. It was decided that unresolved issues will be placed in the NEDB and concerned Ministries will be asked to present their position.
The Commerce Minister had approached provinces through their Chief Ministers. Response in this regard was received from the Government of Punjab and the Government of Sindh. Moreover, meeting of 16 Sectoral Councils were also held with active participation from the provinces. Findings of the discussions from Sectoral Councils were presented.
The Commerce Minster highlighted the important role of the provinces and stressed that the resulting positive effects of an export developed economy will be felt most strongly at the provincial level.
On the issue of meetings with the provinces and other stakeholders to finalize the proposals for collaboration with Chinese experts including development of quality seeds and to improve extensions services of enhance agriculture exports, the MoC informed that the task had been transferred to National Seed Development & Regulatory Authority (NSDRA) but no meeting had been convened since.
Sharing details of meeting with Cereal Association to explore the export of value-added wheat products, Commerce Ministry explained that there is no ban on value-added wheat exports. However, the Cereal Association of Pakistan was interested in the export of wheat as a commodity and not in the export of value-added products.
On the plan for resolution of shipping and delivery time issues, Commerce Ministry informed that an update on this issue had been requested from Ministry of Maritime Affairs. The Commerce Ministry mentioned that this issue is also being considered in the Commerce Ministry under its Committee on Transshipment Policy.
Commerce Ministry presented the sectoral roadmap of the agriculture sector based on the consultations with the three Sectoral Councils of the agri sector.
Cross-cutting issues were explained related to energy tariff, import tariffs on capital goods and raw materials, financial costs, logistics challenges, the change to Normal Tax Regime, Infrastructure Development Councils, security protocols for foreign investors, liquidity crunch due to stuck up refunds, work visa issues for foreign experts and low R&D investments.
Moreover, a plan of action for five main agriculture sectors was presented namely, rice, fruits and vegetables, dairy and dairy products, meat and meat products and fisheries. A way forward was also given with specific interventions and assigned responsibilities.
The meeting decided that a presentation will be made to the Prime Minister in the next meeting of National Export Development Board.
On the issue of the Infrastructure Development Cess (IDC) imposed by the Government of Sindh and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Commerce Ministry highlighted the negative effect of the infrastructure development cess of Sindh and KPK on the competitiveness of exporters. It was apprised that the Minister for Commerce had written to the Chief Ministers of Sindh and KPK to reconsider the imposition of IDC.
The representative of the Sindh Government highlighted the importance of the revenue generated from the Sindh Infrastructure Development Cess, particularly for addressing the wear and tear of provincial infrastructure due to trade related transit. The representative of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government mentioned that there is a proposal to reduce the KPK Infrastructure Development Cess.
The meeting decided that the matter of the IDC will be presented to the Prime Minister in the next meeting of the National Export Development Board as part of the agriculture sector roadmap.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024