The world business is growing and so are the exports. But the Pakistani exports have shown a decline of five present during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. The problem needs serious attention, but the government is far from ascertaining causes of the decline and devising a roadmap to enhance exports.
It is no denying the fact that Pakistanhas strong cottage industryand is the acting as the backbone of the economy. The parts which are made in Japan or made in elsewhere in the world on sophisticated machines are manufactured by turners in the streets of Pakistani cities without any government help. The local made parts are not less than the standards of the Japanese or Korean parts. What an only need to do is to encourage the private sector and the government machinery should also think out of the box solutionsto speed up the industrialization of the country. The government should avoid implementation of plans which proved to be failure over and over again in the past.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has also expressed concerns over the slow growth of exports during eight months from July to February of the ongoing financial year 2014-15.He asked the Ministry of Commerce to have a clear view of the situation.He also questioned what the targets areand what measures are being taken to enhance exports. He also urged the officials to remove the hindrances in the wayof exports and facilitatethe exporters to meet the target.There are various countries in the world which have small GDP than Pakistan, but their exports are twice the size of Pakistan’s.
The statics of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics point out that the country’s exports have showna decline of 4.92 percent to reach $16 billion in July-February of the current financial year from $16.8 billion in the same period of the last year.
During the same financial year, the country’s imports have shown an increaseof four percent to reach $30.58 billion from $29.41 billion in the same period during the previous year, recording a trade deficit of $14.57 billion.
According to Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir,Pakistani exports to European Union have increased by 20 percent due to GSP Plus. The minister appreciated that the reduction in discount rate by the State Bank of Pakistan is encouraging the exporters. The problem lies in the management and not in economic indicators.
