KARACHI: Chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), Malik Muhammad Boston has said that Pakistan needs industrial development, and the government should install plants within the country for goods that are currently imported.
Welcomed the new incentive package announced by Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Shehbaz Sharif for the export industry, said that with the reduction in the refinance rate from 7 percent to 4.5 percent, industrialists and exporters will be able to obtain more financing, electricity will become cheaper, and exporters have also been given relief in duties.
Now it is the responsibility of exporters to take advantage of the Prime Minister’s incentive package to further strengthen the national economy and to bring dollars earned through exports back into Pakistan.
Malik Muhammad Bostan said that the government has generously accepted all the demands of exporters; therefore, exporters should now focus on exporting value-added products so that better returns can be achieved.
If cotton is value-added, converted into finished products, and then sold, its value can increase by 50 percent.
Malik Muhammad Bostan said that two years ago the interbank dollar rate was Rs 308, while now it is Rs 280.
Previously, when an individual sent USD 100,000 from abroad, an additional USD 324 was received, whereas now, due to the lower dollar rate, the family of a person sending USD 100,000 from abroad receives an additional USD 357.
In this way, there is a benefit of USD 33 more over two years. This is why remittances are increasing, and with the decline in the dollar rate, remittances will further rise. As the rupee strengthens against the dollar, exports will also increase.
He said that 80 percent of imported goods are re-exported. When goods were imported at Rs 308 per dollar, more Pakistani rupees had to be paid, whereas now fewer rupees are required, which has strengthened the Pakistani currency.
Malik Muhammad Bostan further said that the recent incentive package announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the export industry will help revive the country’s manufacturing sector and enhance competitiveness at the global level.
The decisions taken by the government will determine Pakistan’s future economic direction and will benefit the country’s export industry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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