The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has the urged government to support the export-oriented industry through resolving their issues like undue delay in refund claims, energy shortage and high input cost. LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad on Thursday said that at a time when regional countries were taking big strides towards economic prosperity and gaining the status of global economic players, decline in the country's exports was a matter of concern and needed to be resolved within the shortest possible time.
"The dependence on limited products and a few countries for exports is one of the major reasons of sluggish and discouraging exports. Pakistan's main export partners are United States (13.6 percent of the total exports), China (11 percent), United Arab Emirates (8.5 percent) and Saudi Arabia (8.5 percent). Our reliance for exports on a few countries is unremarkably high which has forced our exports to remain limited," he said.
Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Chile do not require introduction in Pakistan if discussed under the subjects of sports, geography and culture, but in economic scenario, they carry a very inadequate eminence among us. A very few Pakistanis know that the unblemished and strong economies of South America yearn for the attention of Pakistani investors to do business we cannot avail this unique opportunity, he added.
He was of the view that Pakistan needs to focus other than the traditional partners to gain more economic benefits and to give boost to the national exports. "The upcoming global economic shift would be more advantageous for us if Pakistan extends its economic associations towards South America that is not a traditional trade destination for Pakistan merchandise," he maintained.
The LCCI President said the government and private sector should recognise the importance of those regions and should gear up efforts to strengthen trade and economic ties. He said bilateral discussions should be held between the diplomats and private sectors of these countries. The trade relations with South America although already had been initiated but those must have to touch the core of available opportunities, which were still overlooked or minimally exercised, he added. He also urged the government to resolve the issues being faced by the export-oriented industry to increase the exports.