ISLAMABAD: Abdul Razak Dawood, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment met with the representatives of Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association (PEFMA) on Thursday. The officials of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) were also present.
The PEFMA representatives highlighted their concerns on continued loss of competitiveness by the fan industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fahad Rafiq, Chairman PEFMA, informed that various segments of industry were facing extreme shortages of copper and aluminium raw material. These included manufactures of fan, utensils, electrical wires, car parts, kitchenware, die casting, machining, and aluminium window frame manufactures, etc.
He informed that this was due to sudden spike in exports of these materials which had resulted in quadrupling their prices in the local market. He informed that, keeping in view the demand of the industry, the exports of raw material were mostly restricted or banned in India, China and Malaysia and even the UAE.
The Association informed that copper and aluminium ingots carried negligible value addition of two percent. It also informed that there was 25 percent Regulatory Duty (RD) on export of copper scrap but there was none on export of aluminium ingots and scrap. The Association requested imposition of RD on export of copper and aluminium ingots so that the export of fans, which was a value added product, did not suffer.
The MoC assured the representatives of PEFMA that problems being faced the industry would be examined in detail. Dawood advised the representatives of PEFMA to explore high-end markets. He strongly advised the Association to get its members certified with the International Certification Agencies and acquire the certifications which are a pre-requisite for entry into the high-end markets. He also urged the fan industry to invest a part of its export earnings in Research and Development (R&D).
Assuring full support of the government for the promotion of the fan industry on sound footing, Dawood requested the representatives of the Association to recommend professional experts for the "Fan Export Council", which was being considered in the forthcoming Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF). The Fan Export Council will include all the related stakeholders and it will develop a long-term vision for the fan's industry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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