ICCI Urges Concerned Institution To Develop Long Term Exports Strategy

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published August 18, 2016 | 04:54 PM

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Augst,2016) : The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged the government to develop a long-term exports strategy by focusing on major reforms, enhancing share of high tech and innovative products. The government should improve quality, create value through designing and branding and market diversification by paying more attention towards unexplored markets of Central Asia, South America and Africa, President, ICCI, Atif Ikram Sheikh said on Thursday.

He said there was an urgent need of bringing major structural reforms in the exports sector and focusing on diversification as the existing composition of exportable items lacked force to bring significant improvement in exports The President, ICCI, said another problem with export sector was that our exports were dominated by Primary and intermediate goods rather than value-added finished products as 74 percent of food items and 40 percent exports of textiles were primary commodities.

Showing concerns over falling exports, he called upon the government to take urgent measures to stop this trend. He said, the government should conduct a candid analysis of export sector to take corrective measures. Atif Ikram Sheikh said, the country was depending mainly on textiles and some other products for exports, adding, textiles exports has now only 4.1 percent share in the world trade whereas the engineering sector constituted 34 percent share in the international trade, but share of Pakistan's exports of engineering goods was quite nominal.