STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE: Adviser for Commerce, Textile and Industries Abdul Razaq Dawood has said he has no idea as to when the current wave of price hike will come to an end.
“I however, am optimistic that the turnaround against the high prices will begin from September next as Shaukat Tarin was negotiating for credit facility with the IMF,” the Adviser said while talking to media after inaugurating the Pakistan Footwear Design Hub, a project of Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association (PFMA), here Saturday.
Replying to queries of media men, Abdul Razaz Dawood called for showing patience for some time as economy was back on the track and situation was improving with every day. The agriculture and industrial sectors are performing well, production and exports are increasing which all indicate good days ahead, he said adding, the increase in exports has shortened availability of containers for shipment besides adding to the fares.
The Adviser referred to his meeting with Prime Minister to discuss increase in exports and expedite productivity, and said Pakistan has enjoyed for two years the rebate facility from European Union under GSP+ status and hopefully this facility will be extended to another two years to a big benefit to Pakistanis export items.
Dawood took the credit for locally manufacturing mobile phone sets and said, if Bangladesh and Vietnam have left us behind in shoe making, we have beaten them in mobile set manufacturing. We are now among the states which are exporting mobile phone sets. He said despite an unstable situation in Afghanistan, Pakistani exports were going on as usual. This all is due to good policies of the present government, he said and remarked, in the present era the old culture of importing everything has changed and now the global demand is of value added products only. He said Pakistan was ready for trade with Afghanistan and in the same vein added, no trade was going on with India at the moment.
On price hike, he said, Pakistan was not the only country hit by this phenomenon as prices of steel, fuel, edible oil etc. have been jacked up worldwide.
The Adviser also promised to address the problems of Association on priority. He said over the last 10 years no attention was paid to shoes manufacturing sector but the PTI government will attend to it needs give it more incentive after cutting down the duties on it, so that the import of shoes also gets a boost.
