Daily Times

Business community has stressed the urgent need for evolving more export-oriented strategies to achieve the $30 billion export target by the end of the current fiscal year 2021-22. They said this while addressing a round table conference on “Pakistan Export Strategic” organised under the aegis of intellectuals council of Pakistan on Sunday.

Addressing the round table, former senior vice president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Meher Kashif Younis said that export strategy must involve better integration with regional and global markets and it is also imperative to make domestic business globally competitive.

He said export growth must accompany improvement in productivity levels of domestic manufacturers as they capture a greater share in the world market. He said the lack of capabilities of Pakistani manufacturing firms is reflected in productivity growth rates.

He said the textile sector forms the backbone of Pakistani exports and generates much-needed inflows,the lack of diversification in exports has often prevented sustainable growth in total exports, he added. He said local producers must adhere to innovations to ensure that the input mix involving foreign inputs help boost exports, government policy makers often link free trade agreements with export potential not realising that FTA can help businesses achieve a better mix of foreign inputs and help improve productivity levels. Meher Kashif Younis said even the Pakistani textile sector has a lower share in global trade; however, since the recovery phase of the pandemic, Pakistani exports are hitting new highs with $23 billion exports in the last three quarters of the current fiscal year .

The host Rameen summing up the conference in the light of recommendations of experts said in essence a policy paper on the economy must address the lack of capabilities, innovation and low productivity to achieve economic turnaround.

She said more interestingly Vietnam made significant strides in improving its exports in the last 35 years and its exports as a percentage of GDP was at 3.95 percent in 1988 that’s much below 13.9 percent of Pakistan in the same year, she concluded. Other speakers who shared their life long practical experiences included Dr Ehsan Malik, Dr Nosheena Saleem, Dr Waqar Chaudhry and Ms Saba Aalam Butt.