The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Mahfooz Elahi has said that all major economic indicators of the economy are declining and this situation is a cause of concern for investors, as well as the business community. The government has to diversify its exportable products and explore non-traditional markets to enhance its exports and create a strong industrial base in the country, which would result in economic stability, he said in a statement issued here on Saturday.
He said that Pakistan has been depending on EU and the US for exports as these countries account for almost 40 to 45 percent of Pakistan’s total annual exports. Exploring non-traditional markets and introducing traditional and non-traditional export products of Pakistan in foreign markets is the utmost need of the hour, he added. The ICCI president stressed that apart from China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka with whom Pakistan has signed Free Trade Agreements, Pakistan should explore other regions like South America, Africa and Asia to explore untapped exports potential in these countries.
He urged exporters to explore new world trade and export markets in the large national interest for bringing boom in country’s economy and industrial development. He said that efforts should be stepped up at government and private level to explore new markets.
Identifying some potential areas to enhance local exports, Mahfooz Elahi said that the marble industry, telecom and IT industry, fruits, vegetable and furniture sectors offer tremendous potential of enhancing exports.
Close collaboration among trade associations, chambers and stakeholders could produce better results for the economy by making well targeted and goal-oriented efforts to explore traditional and non-traditional foreign markets, he maintained. He said that Pakistan has a narrow export base, consisting hardly of 1,250 products as against the trading of over 5,000 products in the international market. The ICCI president said that Pakistan should also diversify its exports to Middle East and add new products to its export basket as they could constitute a big chunk of export earnings.
Elahi said that there were no proper market surveys on the products and markets in Pakistan, highlighting that there are many products and concessions if the market is properly assessed. Pakistan has an abundance of land and natural resources, workforce, strong entrepreneurship and a large domestic market, thereby, it is important for the government to facilitate exporters to explore non-traditional items, he added.
