MONEM FAROOQI
The government has failed to take any step in implementing its own plan of upgrading 11 laboratories, ensuring quality and standards of Pakistani products to compete in international markets despite allocating Rs 1.2 billion in this regard.
The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) sources told Pakistan Today that government had plans for asking China and the United States to help in upgrading the laboratories for the 46 present international mandatory standards. They said that the maintaining quality and standard has been paramount importance for Pakistan to remain in the international markets. Non-tariff barriers in the form of standards, technical regulations, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures and conformity assessment procedures were the issues to be tackled effectively in order to stay in the international export market.
Non-tariff barriers were the biggest challenge for Pakistan’s exports for which the exporters needed to improve the quality and produce the goods according to the international standards. ‘To achieve the required standards, the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has already been established to ensure quality products. However, all need massive updating of their equipments.
On the other hand, high charges taken by the government-owned Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (PITAC) and ECO Textile Laboratory for making various tests are causing a lot of problems for small and medium exporters who have to meet the conditions laid down by their foreign buyers. Despite the fact that the ECO Textile Laboratory had been set up with the fund raised from exporters but they have not any mark in its working/operations.
Exporters demanded that a board be constituted with members from the private sector. Exporters were highly critical about the TDAP’s role and the price list issued by the laboratories carried TDAP’s logo. “This means that the rates have been approved by the TDAP.” If the officials do not realise that what keeps on damaging the exports then who else may defend the interest of exporters”, the exporters maintained. The Synthetic Fibre Development and Application Centre, ECO Textile Laboratory, set up with a cost of Rs 68 million dished out from the Export Development Fund (EDF) was of no benefit to small and medium exporters who have to pay high charges for various tests required for export goods.
The laboratory, which was established about three years ago, was to facilitate small and medium sized exporters for testing their export products as required by their customers. Furthermore, it was also visualized that the upgraded testing facilities would help meet the requirements.
Exporters complain that for one single test they have to pay around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000, which puts extra burden on input cost of products. According to the price list of ECO Textile Laboratory for the year 2003, there had been an increase of around 30 per cent in charges for most of the tests, over the previous price list of 2014.
Large industrial set ups having their in-house test lab facilities do not incur huge cost, whereas small and medium exporters are compelled to pay high price for each test. ‘If test charges are brought down, it would not only benefit exporters, but would also result in high turnover, bringing in more revenue to the lab’.
