Arrivals of foreign trade delegations ebb due to Covid-19

LAHORE: A meeting of the LCCI Standing Committee for International Fairs, Exhibitions and Delegations was held at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was chaired by the Convener of the Standing Committee Rao Khurshid. Chaudhry Khadim Hussain, Mian Jabbar Khalid, Mudassar Masood Chaudhry, Anser Saeed Butt and others were also present.

Addressing the meeting, Convener of the Standing Committee for International Fairs, Exhibitions and Delegations, Rao Khurshid said that due to the corona epidemic, the flow of trade delegations at the international level has decreased during the last few years. He said that the importers and exporters of Pakistan have also faced a lot of problems because of this scenario.

He said that after the end of the Corona epidemic, the world is returning to normal conditions, so we also have to look ahead and activate the LCCI Standing Committee for International Fairs, Exhibitions and Delegations.

He said that some countries have been identified for the trade delegations and the trade delegations are being planned for Europe, Middle East, Far East, Korea and Japan with the aim of exploring new opportunities for trade and investment and joint ventures.

Convener of the LCCI Standing Committee for International Fairs, Exhibitions and Delegations said that trade delegations are very important as they help in finding new markets, increase exports and find new buyers for products. He also emphasised the need to participate in international exhibitions and trade fairs.

Rao Khursheed said that as a convener, he wishes to send more trade delegations abroad, but due to the prevailing conditions, the business community is not showing interest.

He said that in the presence of problems such as high rate of mark-up, low exports, heavy devaluation of rupee, high production cost, tax system and five to six thousand containers stuck at the ports, the business community is not inclined towards trade delegations. He said that it is very important to solve these problems. Apart from this, special focus has to be shifted towards import substitution and increase in exports.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023