SIALKOT: – The prolonged persisting energy crisis was stated to be the main reason behind the decline in surgical exports from Sialkot-Pakistan and further investment in surgical industry by the local exporters and investors, due to which more than a century old surgical industry of Sialkot now has been passing through its very hard time as well.
According to the Sialkot based surgical instruments manufacturers and exporters, there were more than 3600 small and big sized surgical instruments manufactures and forging units, out of which more than 2200 units (scattered in and around the Sialkot city) have been badly affected by the power and suigas outages, due to which the new investment in Sialkot’s surgical industry has stopped and the exporters and investors were reluctant to do more investment in this industry here.
As these 2200 small sized surgical manufacturing and forging units have been lying closed for the last six months, as they were battling for their survival in such unavoidable circumstances. Later, these unavoidable circumstances had beaten them badly and as a result of which they were forced to close these units to avert for financial crisis.
The affected small manufacturers said that the lacked government patronage was also another main cause behind the closure of these 2200 small surgical instruments manufacturing and forging units in and around the Sialkot city here.
There was also a visible decline in exports of surgical instruments in Sialkot from US$ 369 million to US$ 358 million.
The perturbed surgical exporters including Fazal Jillani, Jalil Bajwa, Sheikh Waqar , Bilal Ameen, Qaiser Baig and Ch. Muhammad Ikram were of the view that the surgical industry and its manufacturers, venders and exporters were in dire need of India and China like government patronage for their surgical sectors. They urged the Pakistan government to ensure the maximum trade, export and research and development patronage for the surgical industry. They said that surgical industry was more than a century old and was also in dire need of advanced manufacturing technology, besides; exploring the new international trade markets through the diversification of their traditional t nontraditional export products.
They also urged the surgical exporters to end their internal price war and focus on diversification of their traditional to nontraditional export products in a bid tap the untapped international trade markets ahead.
Chairman Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP) Muhammad Jehangir Bajwa added that the more than a century old surgical industry of Sialkot was in dire need of the skilled work force and early provision of skilled work forces could prove itself as injection of a fresh blood into the dying surgical industry as well.
