KARACHI: Pakistan’s exports to European Union (EU) have increased by 65 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was stated by Androulla Kaminara, EU Ambassador to Pakistan, and Abdur Razak Dawood, Advisor to PM on Commerce, at a press conference held at a local hotel.
She said that Pakistani exporters had grabbed their share from unconventional markets in the textile sector during the pandemic that led to an increase in its exports to the EU by 65 percent.
She said that 70 percent of total exports to the EU were from the textile sector, while Pakistan also exported leather goods, shoes, light machinery, and surgical goods.
She urged the Pakistani businessmen to make collective efforts to expand their shares in the EU instead of fighting each other.
“Our export restrictions on different sectors, especially seafood, are not political, but the exporters have to meet EU regulations.”
Androulla said that Pakistan could increase rice exports to EU countries by improving its packaging quality to avoid ‘rice bugs’ in the consignments, which she termed the only issue related to the rice exports.
She said that the EU had decided to focus on three more sectors – Gems and Jewellery, Tourism, and IT for diversified trade from Pakistan.
Trade between Pakistan and the EU has proved beneficial for both because apart from Pakistan’s exports to the EU, which have increased by 65 percent, EU exports to Pakistan have also registered 40 percent growth.
Meanwhile, Abdur Razak Dawood said that the EU was helping Pakistan in quality improvement, skill developments, etc. The country’s business community had to do more to expand the range of products and explore new exporting venues.
“The EU is facilitating Pakistan to allow duty-free imports, but the only demand is implementing 27 conventions. We have implemented the majority of them, and we are in progress to implementing the remaining conventions. The EU is our one of the biggest partners as 30 percent of the country’s total exports are for EU countries.”
In her earlier address at the EU-Pakistan Business Forum, 2021, Androulla said: “over the series of three events, we have managed to bring together SMEs working in diverse sectors from across Pakistan.
The diverse range of products covered under GSP+ represents a massive opportunity for Pakistani SMEs to benefit from GSP+ boost trade fully and strengthen bilateral trade for a prosperous Pakistan.
Through this forum, the EU is trying to help create linkages between EU and Pakistani SMEs to understand their challenges and help overcome them with a particular focus on technology transfer.
The government’s new SME development policy shows the commitment to help small businesses grow and contribute positively to Pakistan’s economy. With the strong involvement of the business community and continued engagement with the government through the EU-Pakistan Business Forum, she hoped to develop initiatives, build capacity and provide technical assistance to support the SME development process in Pakistan. “I am confident that together they can expand the benefit of GSP+ boost trade and ultimately allow Pakistan to take full advantage of GSP+,” she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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