This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial "$50bn in exports by 2023?" carried by the newspaper recently. The newspaper has argued, among other things, that "People were still in the process of digesting this fiscal year's rather ambitious export target of around $40 billion, wondering how it would really be achieved, and Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Razzak Dawood has already raised hopes of fetching $50 billion in 2023, the last fiscal year of the present administration. ..." Dawood sahib's intentions, no doubt, are very good. Moreover, he's not known for answering questions off the cuff; he always speaks with great care. He seems to be fully aware of the fact that our country is still miles and miles away from becoming a trading nation. Our export numbers are nowhere close to those of, for example, Vietnam's. But we must make every possible effort to ensure that our international trade makes up a large percentage of our GDP.
Farooq Usman (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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