Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Industrial & Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has said that the cost of doing business has increased manifold, leading to constant decline in exports due to flawed policies of the government. PIAF acting Chairman Tanveer Ahmed Sufi along with Vice Chairman Khawaja Shazeb Akram said that value added industry was contributing to its role in national exports in addition to providing jobs to millions of workers. But, increased cost of doing business was hurting Industry which must be curtailed to get maximum share for Pakistan economy.

Sufi highlighted that gas tariff per MMBTU in Bangladesh is $3.35, $4.66 in India, $6 in Vietnam, but is $7.59 in Pakistan (including Rs 200 under GIDC Act 2015); which is 126% higher than Bangladesh, 62.87% higher than India and 26.5% higher than Vietnam. Commenting on electricity tariff, he stated that electricity tariff per KWh in Bangladesh and India is $0.09 and $0.08 in Vietnam, but in Pakistan it is $0.11; which is 22.2% higher than Bangladesh & India and 37.5% higher than Vietnam. He demanded that gas tariff for export industry should be reduced at least by 10% less than of tariff of regional countries.

He emphasised that reduction in inputs had been a long-awaited demand of the value-added industry to make Pakistani exporters competitive in the international market as minimum wage in Pakistan is 111% higher than Bangladesh (Pakistan $144, Bangladesh $68). Hence, a 20% reduction will make Pakistani exporters viable to compete with regional competitors, he said.

He said that the declining trend in exports had burdened the national economy and govt must provide necessary incentives to the export sector in addition to introducing proactive export friendly policies. Tanveer Ahmed Sufi said that the exports of value-added textile sector had declined from $3.2 billion to $2.5 billion. He said that in that scenario, the government agencies were harassing exporters by sending them various penalty notices.

He said that government should merge all taxes, duties and contributions and introduce “one window operation” for the onetime payment of all dues.

Published in Daily Times, November 12^th 2017.