The president of Pakistan Businessmen's and Intellectuals Forum, Mian Zahid Hussain, has demanded that the wide gap between the government and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) should be bridged to benefit from the true potential of the Gujranwala. He said Gujranwala is the seventh-largest city in the country and a main industrial hub which should not be neglected anymore.
There are around over ten thousand cottage industries in the district employing over half a million people and contributing nine percent to the GDP, but it is deprived of proper attention from the policymakers, he said.Mian Zahid Hussain said that apart from grains, sugarcane, melons, cotton and rice, the city produces woollen textiles, vegetable oil, industrial machinery, fans, washing machines and other electric goods, poultry feed, soap, rubber tire and tube, metal and melamine utensils, cutlery, kitchenware, ceramics tiles, sanitary wares, sanitary fittings and steel pipe.
However, the owners of SMEs and cottage industries complain that the authorities listen to big industrialists and pay no heed to the problems of cottage industries, he added.
Entrepreneurs say that their competitiveness is constrained by bureaucratic red tape, corruption, inadequate industrial infrastructure, policy instability, access to financing and severe energy shortages which make the area a less attractive destination for investment. The business leader said that the city is exporting washing machines, fans, gas appliances, plastic furniture, cookware, sanitary-ware, fittings and several other products to more than 24 European, African and Arab countries. This can be increased if the policymakers decide to pay more attention, he added.