ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has stressed the need to exploit economic and trade opportunities expected in the global market post-coronavirus pandemic.
“We perceive and expect more opportunities to promote bilateral trade and strengthen linkages with potential markets, including the European Union, China, Central Asian states, Middle East and Africa, once the pandemic is over,” he said in an exclusive talk with APP on Thursday.
He stated that coronavirus has changed the world and that business processes would now be completely different. “Such difficult periods always bring out new opportunities, products, and new ways of thinking,” he opined.
Dawood further said that the government was equally focusing on all sectors of the economy, including textile, non-textile, agriculture and engineering sectors, in order to build the country’s export potential in the coming months.
Talking about the external trade situation during the past three months, he said Pakistan’s export situation was not good, as they declined by around 54pc in April 2020 as compared to the same month of last year.
In the first 10 months (July-April) of the current fiscal year (FY20), the overall exports declined by four per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
“The exports had increased by 13pc in February, however, they started reducing from March, following the closure of global markets, declining by 6.5pc as compared to March last year.”
However, the adviser said, even during the current lockdown situation, Pakistan exported textile and non-textile products while the country’s food exports also increased, especially to the Middle East.
Likewise, he added, exports in steel articles also increased in the last three months despite critical situation.
On a question regarding the current account deficit, the adviser said a $6 billion decline was expected in the coming fiscal year owing to an improvement in the country’s balance of trade.
Dawood said the government was prioritizing to promote ‘Made in Pakistan’ policy to boost local production, reduce dependence on import and enhance exports. “An agenda in this regard is already with the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet,” he added.
Talking about the tariff structure, he informed that the Ministry of Commerce was pursuing to bring changes in the tariff structure for the upcoming fiscal year to facilitate local production and thereby move towards local manufacturing.
He said the government wanted to decrease customs’ duties on raw material and also wanted to document the non-tax businesses to bring them in the tax net.
The adviser further emphasized the need to exploit huge opportunities of increasing exports of the health and safety products, like personal protective equipment (PPE) for coronavirus; protective masks, gloves, sanitizers, clothing, helmets, goggles etc.
“We need to revisit our strategies and start manufacturing in different sectors to achieve our exports targets,” he added.
