ISLAMABAD: The commerce ministry has rejected the claims of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar about the country’s export statistics for the current fiscal year 2015-16 stating that the exports will remain at 21 billion dollars against the target of 25.5 billion dollars. This was stated by the Secretary Commerce Azmat Ali Ranjha in the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, that was held under the chairmanship of Senator Shibli Faraz at the Parliament House Islamabad. The secretary commerce during a briefing to the committee said that Pakistan’s export trend was decreasing day by day and for the current fiscal year 2015-16 it will be projected at 21 billion dollars. It is worth mentioning here that the government has projected the 22.30 billion dollar export target in the economic survey 2015-16 but the ministry of commerce official was negating the statistics of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. He further said that cotton yarn export would reduce down to 530 million dollars and gems & jewellery to 1.70 billion USD in the current fiscal year. The secretary commerce said that Pakistan had been facing many difficulties on the economic and non economic front which has led to a deterioration of the business climate. Global recession, decrees in international prices of commodities, increase in cost of production, depreciation of the US dollar and the Euro against the Pakistan rupee, energy crisis and lack of research and development were the main causes behind the slow growth of exports in Pakistan. Regarding the GSP plus status after the British referendum, the joint secretary commerce Muhammad Arshad stated that Britain was the only country which advocates Pakistan in the European Union to get the GSP plus status. After Britain’s divorce to the EU; this will make an impact on Pakistan export and remittances. On this occasion, the Chairman Standing Committee on Commerce Senator Shibli Faraz said that Pakistan’s trade to neighboring countries had been struck and asked as to what the government was doing to resume the trade. Fortunately, Shibli Faraz on this occasion said “Our foreign policy is security centric, it is not trade centric so that’s why our trade is decreasing day by day”. He further told the secretary commerce that the government had been establishing Exim Bank and one year had passed and the status of that bank was not clear. On this occasion, the DG Trade Ministry of Commerce said that the government had finalised the ECO of Exim Bank and 100 billion rupees had been subscribed for the bank. The bank will be operating in Pakistan within a year. The Chairman Trade development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) S.M. Munir said that Pakistan could not increase its trade adding that “we don’t have good relationship with neighbours.” He further said that the Federal board of Revenue (FBR) had held more than Rs 300 billion tax refunds that were affecting the business of exporters. “It seems the government has kept these refunds to please the IMF about economic targets. The government should pay the refunds as early as possible”, he said. The Chairman Pakistan Business Council also briefed the committee about the declining trends of export. He said that in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s exports and imports had been decreasing by 12 per cent and three per cent respectively. He also said that Pakistan had to deliberate on the Free Trade Agreement with China and other countries because Pakistan’s FTA with China was harming the country’s economy. On this occasion, the Chairman TDAP S.M. Munir stated that China-Pakistan collaboration was good but Pakistan should see the people’s interest in this project. The government had given tax free land to the Chinese in Gwadar city but on the other hand, it is charging a levy on Pakistani businessman on the outskirts of Gwadar, The chairman said that the government was hiding matters related to the CPEC. Whenever somebody talked about theCPEC, the government would declare him anti- Pakistan which was not right.