ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms has said that increase in production capacity by the local industries would help reducing the trade deficit in the country.
He said low production capacity of local the industries has been the main cause of trade deficit in the country. “The other main cause of growing trade deficit is also growing dependency on imports to meet the domestic needs”, he said in a statement issued here.
The minister said until 2013, more commodities were being imported into the country to meet the domestic needs.
He said current level of industrial production in the country was too low to meet the domestic needs, therefore the country needs more industrialization in the country.
In addition, he said when the present government came into power, majority of the industries were closed and due to measures taken by the government including uninterrupted electricity and gas supply to the industries, the industrial sector was reviving rapidly.
He said under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the industrial cooperation with China would help modernize the industrial sector.
