The government has to make focused policies and should remove unreasonable taxes to make print industry more prosperous, valuable, and economically viable. This was demanded by speakers at the soft launch ceremony of PrintPak-2017 Exhibition slated to be held at Karachi Expo Center from November 18-20.
Former chairman of Pakistan Association of Printing and Graphics Arts Industry (PAPGAI) Minhaj-ud-din talked about taxation issues being faced by the industry. "We need to have 50 percent increase in per capita consumption of paper in order to be at par with India," said Minhaj.
He said for this purpose they need a friendly paper policy. "There is 51 percent duty on basic raw material which is hurting the paper industry badly because this much duty is not found anywhere in the world. We expected changes in the budget 2017-18 but nothing positive happened. If the government can reduce sales tax for textile industry, why can't this happen for printing industry," said Minhaj.
He said about two million people in Pakistan are engaged with printing and graphic arts industry which constitutes the second largest source of job opportunities after the textile industry in Pakistan. Saleem Memon, leader of Paper Merchants Association, said that "No doubt, this industry has a great potential to explore new international markets to raise the bar of exports and further contribute to the country's foreign exchange."
He said they shared a study with the National Tariff Commission (NTC) disclosing that countries increased their exports and recorded industrial growth by rationalizing tariff and lowering raw material prices. All Pakistan Paper Merchants Chairman Mohammad Saleem Bikiya said anti-dumping is a big issue for the industry. "The NTC has stated that no dumping is done here. But imposing anti-dumping duty is to make local items expensive," said Saleem.
PAPGAI Chairman Muhammad Irfan talked about the role of the association how it has played a pivotal part in the betterment of printing and graphic arts industry by providing professional training and employment opportunities to the youth of the country. Salman Haroon, Chairman PrintPak 2017 Exhibition, highlighted that considering the overwhelming response from the local and international companies the PrintPak-2017 will be organized in four halls of the Expo Centre this time instead of three halls.
He added that the international participants, exhibitors, and delegates are set to make this exhibition is the largest-ever event of PrintPak editions. KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, the chief guest on the occasion, said similar to previous PrintPak expositions this year's PrintPak-2017 would also be a resounding success.
"The exhibition will be a great opportunity for us to connect with old customers and meet new ones, while workshops and seminars by renowned institutes on printing will also be held," he added. FPCCI Vice Chairman Mirza Ishtiaq Baig and Korangi Industrial Area President Masood Naqi were guests of honor. Director Sales Badar Expo Solutions, the Event Manager of PrintPak 2017, Jaffer Abbas said that "We have been receiving good response from distributors and customers from different international countries. We hope for similar success in this year's exhibition as well." PAAPGAI has been conducting this exhibition for last 27 years.