MINCOM URGED TO TAKE STEPS FOR ENHANCING SME SECTOR EXPORTS

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has invited the attention of federal commerce minister Khurram Dastagir to the increase in imports instead of exports and urged him to plan an aggressive strategy to overcome the situation. Pakistan is becoming an import economy and relying on imports instead of setting up import substitution industries and promoting its own exports.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the decline in exports of textiles, rice and commodities, light engineering goods and general merchandise indicates that exports need to be pushed seriously. The ministry of commerce (MINCOM) needs to brain storming to take necessary steps to focus on the majority SME sector and upgrade their units and project them in global markets through information technology.

It has been observed that the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with several countries have resulted in more imports rather than exports. Pakistan manufactures many items of international standards and also processes and adds value to agricultural produce but even then not able to compete and penetrate in markets of our FTA partners.

Thaver suggested that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) must establish an export house for the SMEs and exhibit the goods manufactured and processed by the sector online through SME galleries on the internet.

Secondly focus on the export oriented industries area wise, industry wise and category wise and work jointly with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) to promote exports of the SME wares.

Thirdly exports to third world countries need to be financed with export credit guarantee insurance on low premium. The insurance is available but the premium is very high in fact more than the profit margin in the transaction.

Fourthly TDAP needs to promote the ” Make in Pakistan ” and the use of ” Made in Pakistan ” culture to discourage the huge imports of goods which are being successfully made in Pakistan of international standards.

It is very unfortunate that the TDAP has shelved the work done on the establishment of the SME Export House for no valid reason. The SME export house was specifically designed to promote the SME units manufacturing goods of high bench mark in textiles, light engineering, sports and surgical goods, cutlery and processed commodities.

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