DEMAND TO PROMOTE LIGHT ENGINEERING INDUSTRY

General Demand to promote light engineering industry
Demand to promote light engineering industry
Posted about 12 hours ago | 0 comment

Karachi, The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has stressed the need for promoting exports of the light engineering industry.

It has urged the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to work jointly with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) for export promotion of electric fans, washing machines, cooking ranges, microwaves and vacuum cleaners and other equipments of international standards made in Pakistan by facilitating post shipment finance to exporters.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver speaking at the ceremony to launch the export of SME wares at Unisame Export House said Pakistani goods are very competitive and with good strategy and financing the SMEs can penetrate into big markets of gulf, Middle East and African countries successfully.

He said that Pakistan has made a name for itself in textiles, rice, wheat, maize, sugar, spices, salt and other commodities and now needs to work on light engineering goods for which there is immense scope.

Pakistan is making the best fans in the world and the Pakistani sports goods, surgical and cutlery goods are known for their quality and benchmark.

He regretted that the exporter is not provided post shipment finance due to weak export credit guarantee insurance system and no noteworthy mechanism is in place to enhance exports to third world African countries. In fact most of the third world countries are now getting stronger economically with effective systems of economic discipline, law and order and attracting investments.

The union officials stated that the members have orders in hand from African countries but since the buyers banks have a low rating and the country a third world country, the banks in Pakistan are declining to purchase the bills for discounting. If a sovereign guarantee would be in place to cover the apprehended financial failure of the country, much can be achieved.

The exports of India have increased substantially after the introduction of the sovereign guarantee scheme which indemnifies the negotiating bank against country failure.

Thaver said exports can be increased many folds if SMEDA, TDAP and the SME associations submit proposal to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to establish the export credit guarantee for third world countries and low ranking banks of the regions.

Posted in: Press Releases