The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has asked the government to take prompt measures to bring down the production costs for trade and industries to enable them to compete in the international market. PIAF Chairman Faheemur Rehman Saigol said that trade and industry is currently having difficulty to compete the global market because of rapid increase in production costs. He said that the high cost of production is not good for our exports. “The cost of production is a major factor, which makes an industry stand out among competitors in the world market,” he explained. Faheem said that high energy tariffs, shortage of fuel for machines, high rate of taxes, and lack of skilled labor are the main reasons behind the increase in the cost of production. He expressed concern that the reduction in industries’ contribution to Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is a worrying trend. “Manufacturing and production industries have the potential to significantly impact economic growth by reducing unemployment in the country. The government needs to take solid steps to make doing business easier,” he added. He said lack of research and development (R&D) is one of the major reasons behind the increase in the cost of production in any industry.