Opportunities for SMEs under CPEC: PCJCCI president urges govt to lay down strategy

LAHORE: S M Naveed, President Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry have urged the government to lay down a strategy to explore the export opportunities for SMEs emerged under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

While discussing a SMEDA Survey Report in PCJCCI think-tank meeting, he underlined 45 high-potential products, which have big scope of export opportunities. The Meeting was also attended by Daud Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Khalid Raffique Chaudhry, Vice President, Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General and a number of the Executive Committee Members of PCJCCI.

The meeting observed that 13 items, out of the 45 products, fall in the category of High Value Exports (HVE), 15 in Medium Value Exports (MVE) and 17 in the Low Value Exports (LVE) category. The 13 products of HVE category include Meat, Fish, Mangoes, Chromium Ores and Concentrates, Medical Instruments, Marble, Footwear, Rice, Milk and Cream, Granulated Sugar, Denim, Ethyl Alcohol and Footballs.

Similarly, the 15 Products categorized as MVE include Maize, Milk and Cream Solids, Bananas, Leather Handbags, Plastic/ Textile Material Handbags, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Sweet Biscuits, Modified Polystyrene, Safety Razor Blades, Frozen Orange Juice, Natural Honey, Frozen Fish, Frozen Edible Bovine Offal, Butter Milk, Butcher Knives and Hunting Knives.

Whereas the list of 17 products categorized as the LVE include Bran, Articles of Leather, Paints and Varnishes, Articles of Stone, Folding Cartons and Boxes, Coats and Jackets, Hydrochloric Acid, Tools for Masons/ Watchmakers/ Miners, Crates and similar articles of plastic, Ball Point Pens, Vegetable Products, Fruit Seeds for Sowing, Articles of Wood, Clover Seeds for Sowing, Shelled Almonds, Hide and Skin of Goats and Crabs.

Commenting on the study, PCJCCI office bearers said that the given trade potential has been identified by adopting a three-pronged approach, which includes; detailed analysis of Pakistan's trade with China, focus group discussions and stakeholders' input in terms of a short survey. He hoped that outcome of the study will help business community of Pakistan, especially SMEs to strengthen economic integration with the world's largest trading nation, China.

S M Naveed pointed out that during the past few years Pakistan's imports from China have increased disproportionately compared to Pakistan's exports to China. Therefore, we need to develop a strategy to encourage new export product lines for Chinese market, which are available now under various projects of CPEC.

Senior Vice President PCJCCI, Daud Ahmad envisaged that Pakistan's global trade share, under CPEC, will increase to an optimal level. But, we will have to adopt an approach which can lead to a reduction in the prevalent trade deficit with China, he said and asserted that a good starting point in this regard has been set by the SMEDA through study of the export supply capacity and import demand ability of the country by identifying products line and trends.

Khalid Raffique, Vice President of PCJCCI proposed to create a stakeholders group from SME sector in collaboration with SMEDA and TDAP to explore export opportunities available under CPEC.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021