Pakistan sets $35 billion exports target to boost industry

[shah1398]

Pakistan sets ambitious exports target to boost industry
Posted By: News Deskon: July 18, 2016
Email

Pakistan has decided to straighten up its sinking exports, push them to $35 billion a year and stem the country's foreign trade turmoil. It's a Herculean task. But let's see how it pans out in the current global business and economic environment.

Two key markets - the UAE and Saudi Arabia - will be explored and targeted to multiply the export volume. Latest fashionwear, mangoes, high-tech electronics and top-grade pharmaceuticals are some of the exportable products.

The UAE's current share of exports from Pakistan is four per cent, the Ministry of Finance said.

"Efforts will have to be made to multiply this share. Our hope is that as the UAE not only imports a large number of items for its own use, but also serves as a transit point to import goods from Pakistan and several countries for sale and shipment to other countries in the Middle East, Africa and even South East Asia.

"In fact, even Pakistan imports a large number of raw materials and consumer goods through the UAE, particularly Dubai, because it is an excellent transit point, has low-cost shipping tariff and efficient banking and communications," a Ministry of Finance official said.

The government estimates Pakistan's exports at $20.9 billion in FY-16, which ended on June 30. It was 12.4 per cent, or $4.9 billion, short of target. The target for the year was $25.5 billion. The exports have stagnated around $20-21 billion for the last four years.

The reason: lower domestic output and smaller exportable surplus, plus international crises, which came on the back of low international oil and commodity prices.

"The statistics of volume and the dollar value of exports are being processed and expected to be unveiled in the next few days," said an executive of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank.

The industry, business and exporters now have the latest version of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2015-18.

The government was compelled to freshen up its foreign trade plans in view of the continued decline in exports, which are now additionally hit by Brexit. At the same time, the already fragile economy is facing depreciating foreign currency rates, including those of the British pound sterling, US dollar, euro and the Japanese yen.

The Ministry of Commerce has issued five key initiatives to increase exports as part of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2015-18. These initiatives cover: (1) creation of technology upgradation fund, (2) support for branding of Pakistani products, (3) support for value addition, (4) support for product diversification and (5) repayment of industry's withheld local taxes.

Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said: "We expect these new initiatives will significantly increase Pakistani exports. The government has allocated Rs6 billion to finance these plans this year."

Implementation of these plans, through government funding for various industries and industrial units and training by foreign trainers, will enlarge output and offer high quality products to attract global consumers.

"The government plans to spend Rs18 billon over three years to market a larger range of new consumer goods, raw materials and intermediary products, and multiply the volumes, as laid down in the STPF," Dastgir said.

As of now, 60 per cent of Pakistan's exports go to 10 countries. These are: United States, China, the UAE, Afghanistan, UK, Germany, France, Bangladesh, Italy and Spain. The US is the biggest buyer of Pakistani exports with its 17 per cent share. European Union countries account for 22 per cent. Exports to China are down to 8.7 per cent in FY-16 compared to 10 per cent in FY-14. Exports to the UAE are down to four per cent in FY-16 from seven per cent in FY-14.

Why are Pakistani exports stagnant for the last four years? The International Monetary Fund attributed this to: the global commodity crisis, domestic power shortages, poor business climate, low external demand and exchange rate appreciation against the rupee.

The Standing Committee on Commerce of the Senate is worried over the sinking state of Pakistani exports. Its chairman, senator Shibli Faraz, presided over a hearing on this issue. Senator Faraz urged the government and the industrialists to "do their utmost to raise output and to produce and export more to save the Pakistani economy."


http://www.khaleejtimes.com/interna...s-35-billion-exports-target-to-boost-industry

 

[touela]

Some days ago a post in here was about the lack of governments involvement in helping the textile industry to help solving their problems. One textile producer said, that government needs to sole some (tax) problems for us, and we can manufacture more, valued 3-5 bln dollars.
Of couse it will have a positive effect on Pakistan manufacturing, when electricity problems are solved, but I think also, that if government makes subsidy reforms for agriculture, textile, Large Scale Manufacturing (thereby inviting foreign companies to make local factories), etc. All this will have a massive effect on the economy. As it is today, it's not enough to put all the energy in producing more and more powerplants. We need to shift to other industry segments as well.

 

[I S I]

Its a pipe dream in current scenario until power shortage ends & Govt. lower downs taxes to single digit to revive the old industries. But i'm not seeing it anytime soon. Mr. Dar(Daqaar) also recently implemented heavy taxes on property sell & purchase business.

 

[艹艹艹]

Congratulations to Pakistan

 

[sparten]

There is no power shortage in industry anymore. So theirs that.

I am heartened to see the Government finally giving emphasis to emerging and dynamics industries such as pharma, agro products and the electronics industry, all of which have made huge strides in the last ten years and deserve more support overseas.

I am disappointed that cement, automotive and engineering industries are not included. It is shocking that the largest Pakistani industries barely have any export presence, while we have been supporting the sinking ship that is Textile manufacture since they are "exporters". Many of these are guys selling really lousy yarn, that our own stitched clothing manufacturers don't use, and a lot of that support has simply gone into them making inroads into the domestic market.

 

[Arsalan]

Its a pipe dream in current scenario until power shortage ends & Govt. lower downs taxes to single digit to revive the old industries. But i'm not seeing it anytime soon. Mr. Dar(Daqaar) also recently implemented heavy taxes on property sell & purchase business.

Plus we need to invest in other industries as mangoes and textiles wont get you to that mark. You need high tech high value exports like electronics etc.

There is no power shortage in industry anymore. So theirs that.

I am heartened to see the Government finally giving emphasis to emerging and dynamics industries such as pharma, agro products and the electronics industry, all of which have made huge strides in the last ten years and deserve more support overseas.

I am disappointed that cement, automotive and engineering industries are not included. It is shocking that the largest Pakistani industries barely have any export presence, while we have been supporting the sinking ship that is Textile manufacture since they are "exporters". Many of these are guys selling really lousy yarn, that our own stitched clothing manufacturers don't use, and a lot of that support has simply gone into them making inroads into the domestic market.

5 hours per day in all of Faisalabad industrial feeders.
If someone says that there is no improvement in electricity situation then he is wrong but only as wrong as someone claiming that there is no power outage in industrial sector.

 

[Hyde]

If my memory is correct, back in the days of PPP in 2008-09, they had set export target of 60-70 billion dollars... and here in 2016 we have the export value same as few years back.

There is no harm in setting targets but they merely serve as day dreaming for Pakistanis. I also believe that 35 billion dollars are peanuts and can be easily achieved after utilising our existing resources, our IT industry has grown by manifols in past few years and looks like the only industry which has done extremely well but there is certainly a lot of potential in our agriculture, pharmaceutical and services sector

 

[Jhon Smith]

Only High tech industry can boost exports , But reporter seems less qualified as has not mentioned, how and which products that Pak can sell to increase exports ..
many of such news complied by some low paid journalists those hardly have any knowledge on given subject .. To increase exports Pak need Asian level engineering universities as India has IIT.

 

[RoadRunner401]

Industrial units in Pakistan can't even produce enough to feed the local consumption never mind exporting and all that because of electricity&gas shortages. Address the energy shortages first and then set export targets.

PS, for our ummah folks, all I see is the Infidels supporting Pakistan economy no brotherly nation what's going on.

 

[I S I]

Only High tech industry can boost exports , But reporter seems less qualified as has not mentioned, how and which products that Pak can sell to increase exports ..
many of such news complied by some low paid journalists those hardly have any knowledge on given subject .. To increase exports Pak need Asian level engineering universities as India has IIT.

As a brotherly gesture, you can transfer technology of your Vedic spaceship. So we can learn something from it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Nabil365]

Anything is possible!!!Anyways good luck to Pakistan.

 

[Tangent123]

..I'm surprised not to see India's name in top 10 export market for pakistani goods.
pakistan has good potential in selling fruits, dry fruits, handicraft works, cotton yarn etc..
India is short of these and need them desperately.

 

[Bouncer]

Of couse it will have a positive effect on Pakistan manufacturing, when electricity problems are solved, but I think also, that if government makes subsidy reforms for agriculture, textile, Large Scale Manufacturing (thereby inviting foreign companies to make local factories), etc. All this will have a massive effect on the economy. As it is today, it's not enough to put all the energy in producing more and more powerplants. We need to shift to other industry segments as well.

It is sort of a myth that power shortage is mainly responsible for Pakistan's low exports. I have seen it being repeated again and again in our media and on this forum as well. It is not true. Power shortage is (has not been) a problem for export oriented sectors like textiles, pharma for quite some time due to the fact that government has mostly exempted these industries from load shedding and a significant industrialists (mostly large textile houses, pharma companies, electro-mechanical goods manufacturers in the industrial triangle) have setup their own power generation systems since years now and although the cost of power averages around 20~30% in total input cost it can be managed. There are a few real reasons for the decline in exports;

1. Despite being its reputation as a business friendly government, PMLN (and PPP before it) have implemented some of the harshest and most regressive policies with regards to exports. To give you an example, take the poultry sector. Pakistan has cheap labor, suitable environment and a huge domestic market. Yet our production in this sector is embarrassingly low. It is in fact such a bad situation that large food chains IMPORT their poultry from abroad. Why? Because everything that is required to start a poultry business i.e. the inputs are heavily taxed. Instead of trying spur business in this sector, GOP is actually suffocating it. In short, our tax structure has to change.
2. Export related tax refunds have been pending for years now. As a business man, you rely heavily on borrowed money. Any imbalance in payments can bite hard.
3. Take another example of fruit exports. Only in last few years has GOP woken up and helped install UHT plants to meet EU/US/WTO regulations. Even these barely cover our EXISTING exports. Many more are required.
4. In pharma, Drug Regulation Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) is a cesspool of corruption and inefficiency. They have failed to setup up internationally certified testing labs in the country. Result; our companies can't export to the most lucrative markets in the West. Only a handful of middle eastern and African countries accept our drugs.
5. Punjab's Halal Meat Body has been struggling to get certified for some time now. Other provinces haven't even started yet.

These are some of the issues being faced by private sector in our dear homeland. Do not believe that these big ticket power projects are going to solve our problems. They will prove to be useful, most certainly. But they will not increase our exports in any significant numbers if issues like the ones I have mentioned above are not resolved.

I have to mention the tax structure issue separately. In this case, Ishaq Dar is acting like the greedy man from that old story who killed the hen that laid golden eggs everyday, just to get all of them at once. He is taxing EVERYTHING at source. So instead of getting yarn at $1 and selling it for $7 after value addition, the current tax structure in our country makes it more attractive to sell the yarn itself at $1.2. Just an example.

 

[ziaulislam]

Pakistan sets ambitious exports target to boost industry
Posted By: News Deskon: July 18, 2016
Email

Pakistan has decided to straighten up its sinking exports, push them to $35 billion a year and stem the country's foreign trade turmoil. It's a Herculean task. But let's see how it pans out in the current global business and economic environment.

Two key markets - the UAE and Saudi Arabia - will be explored and targeted to multiply the export volume. Latest fashionwear, mangoes, high-tech electronics and top-grade pharmaceuticals are some of the exportable products.

The UAE's current share of exports from Pakistan is four per cent, the Ministry of Finance said.

"Efforts will have to be made to multiply this share. Our hope is that as the UAE not only imports a large number of items for its own use, but also serves as a transit point to import goods from Pakistan and several countries for sale and shipment to other countries in the Middle East, Africa and even South East Asia.

"In fact, even Pakistan imports a large number of raw materials and consumer goods through the UAE, particularly Dubai, because it is an excellent transit point, has low-cost shipping tariff and efficient banking and communications," a Ministry of Finance official said.

The government estimates Pakistan's exports at $20.9 billion in FY-16, which ended on June 30. It was 12.4 per cent, or $4.9 billion, short of target. The target for the year was $25.5 billion. The exports have stagnated around $20-21 billion for the last four years.

The reason: lower domestic output and smaller exportable surplus, plus international crises, which came on the back of low international oil and commodity prices.

"The statistics of volume and the dollar value of exports are being processed and expected to be unveiled in the next few days," said an executive of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank.

The industry, business and exporters now have the latest version of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2015-18.

The government was compelled to freshen up its foreign trade plans in view of the continued decline in exports, which are now additionally hit by Brexit. At the same time, the already fragile economy is facing depreciating foreign currency rates, including those of the British pound sterling, US dollar, euro and the Japanese yen.

The Ministry of Commerce has issued five key initiatives to increase exports as part of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2015-18. These initiatives cover: (1) creation of technology upgradation fund, (2) support for branding of Pakistani products, (3) support for value addition, (4) support for product diversification and (5) repayment of industry's withheld local taxes.

Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said: "We expect these new initiatives will significantly increase Pakistani exports. The government has allocated Rs6 billion to finance these plans this year."

Implementation of these plans, through government funding for various industries and industrial units and training by foreign trainers, will enlarge output and offer high quality products to attract global consumers.

"The government plans to spend Rs18 billon over three years to market a larger range of new consumer goods, raw materials and intermediary products, and multiply the volumes, as laid down in the STPF," Dastgir said.

As of now, 60 per cent of Pakistan's exports go to 10 countries. These are: United States, China, the UAE, Afghanistan, UK, Germany, France, Bangladesh, Italy and Spain. The US is the biggest buyer of Pakistani exports with its 17 per cent share. European Union countries account for 22 per cent. Exports to China are down to 8.7 per cent in FY-16 compared to 10 per cent in FY-14. Exports to the UAE are down to four per cent in FY-16 from seven per cent in FY-14.

Why are Pakistani exports stagnant for the last four years? The International Monetary Fund attributed this to: the global commodity crisis, domestic power shortages, poor business climate, low external demand and exchange rate appreciation against the rupee.

The Standing Committee on Commerce of the Senate is worried over the sinking state of Pakistani exports. Its chairman, senator Shibli Faraz, presided over a hearing on this issue. Senator Faraz urged the government and the industrialists to "do their utmost to raise output and to produce and export more to save the Pakistani economy."


http://www.khaleejtimes.com/interna...s-35-billion-exports-target-to-boost-industry

WTF...
the exports have been DROPING IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS not due to power outages but poor polices like refusing refund on taxation..

 

[Genghis khan1]

Stop importing oil. Pakistan can save $10 to $15 billion only by cutting oil and gas imports. Start building dams and transfer everything to electricity.