SIALKOT: Due to lack of proper planning by the country’s policy making institutions, the export of cutlery items from Wazirabad has reduced to only two percent. Pakistan has only two percent cutlery export while both China and India have 98 percent cutlery exports share in the international markets against Pakistan.
Local leaders of the Cutlery Association of Pakistan Haji Muhammad Mushtaq, Hameed Akhtar Chadha, Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, Zafar Iqbal Bhutta, Tahir Rafiq Minhas, Muhammad Aslam Bhutta, Muhammad Arif Khokhar, Muhammad Nawaz Cheema, Ch. Arif Saeed, Khalid Mehmood Mughal, Iftikhar Ahmed Cheema, Khawaja Aziz Bhai, Muhammad Riaz Khokhar, Ghulam Haider, Sufi Abdul Hafeez and Haji Muhammad Yaqub have expressed grave concern over this situation, saying that this massive decline in cutlery exports from Pakistan should be an “eye opener” for everyone.
They pointed out that as many as 75 percent cutlery products were being imported from China to Pakistan, which were 25 percent cheaper than the cutlery products , which were being manufactured in Pakistan’s cutlery industrial hub cities Wazirabad and even in Sialkot, amazingly. This situation was badly affecting the cutlery industry of Pakistan.
They demanded several trade and export related incentives for saving cutlery industry from total collapse , urging the government to announce some effective and positive trade, export and economical policies in the coming fiscal budget of the country to flourish the cutlery industry, saying that the proper patronage by the government and proper encouragement could help the local manufacturers and export to enhance the cutlery exports to the tune of US$ 500 million during the next five years from the persisting US$ 100 million as well.
They added that the both China and India were occupying the international trade markets by producing and exporting best quality and cheaper cutlery products than Pakistan there.
They added that at present the local cutlery products manufacturers and exporters are exporting their best quality cutlery products to Holland , Germany, USA, France, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, United Kingdom (UK), Iran, UAE, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Canada from Wazirabad and Sialkot-Pakistan.
They urged the Federal Minister for Commerce Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan to ensure the early establishment of international standard display centers in these countries for displaying the Pakistan’s cutlery products there. Government should allow the duty free imports of the raw materials to all the cutlery products manufacturing companies having at least 60 percent exports of cutlery items, besides, levying only 5 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on them.
They also urged the government to ensure early provision of business loans of Rs. 15 million to Rs. 20 million to all the registered cutlery products manufacturing and exporting companies for a period of five to seven years, enabling these companies to import the advanced technology and machinery to boom up the cutlery industry in Wazirabad and Sialkot-Pakistan as well.
Expressing grave concern over this critical situation, Chairman All Pakistan Cutlery Association Muhamamd Bilal Bhutta has urged the government to ensure the early end of the load shedding of electricity and gas to save these small industries from collapsing, besides, providing the interest-free soft business loans, skills development training of the labourers for providing skilled labour to these industries, early provision of raw material on cheaper rates, special subsidy on export and upto 40 percent increase on import duties to save these dying industries as well…#
