The Commercial counsellors, posted abroad, would facilitate Pakistani exporters providing updated country reports, two-way trade flow data, market analysis and liasing between the European Union (EU) textile importers and Pakistani exporters.
This was stated by newly posted commercial counsellor Tariq Shafi Chak in a European country at a meeting with the members of All Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association (Apcea) here on Friday.
He said that with the onset of the New World trade order, the role and responsibility of the trade counsellors had assumed new dimensions.
The trade counsellors would be marketing managers of the country and had been assigned to double and treble the exports of various commodities in their respective countries of posting, he added.
Tariq Shafi said it was in that context that they were being made to go through an elaborate and systematic interaction regime with broad spectrum of economic and business entities in the country.
He urged the exporters to establish production data baseline, enabling trade counsellors to meet foreign buyers' demands spontaneously.
Earlier, Apcea Chairman Ahmad Kamal, in his welcome address, highlighted the obstacles confronting the export sector.
He said that one of the major problems facing our exporters, was the "image" of the country, because after the incident of 9/11, foreign buyers considered Pakistan as a war-front country, insecure and dangerous to do business with.
They were reluctant to place export orders for fear of risk in the shipment or delays in consignments, he added.
Ahmad Kamal said: "Even three years have passed, we have not been able to restore the image of the country as a peaceful, reliable and dependable export country." He requested the commercial counsellors to attach top priority to restoration of the country's image and credibility as an exporting country.
The Apcea chief said that various European countries and the US had negative travel advisory to their businessmen that not to go to Pakistan for reasons of personal safety. Resultantly, the foreign buyers had stopped visiting here, adversely affecting the export business, he added.
The Apcea chief believed that the commercial counsellors in their respective capitals of posting could play an important role in allaying the fears of foreign buyers and restoring their confidence doing business in Pakistan.
Pinpointing post quota-free trade scenario, Apcea chief said that since the exporters were heading towards the post quota regime, they would have to compete with China and India, because those countries were extending huge support to their export sector and adopting modern means of the marketing.
The Apcea chief emphasised that counsellors could play very important role by developing cordial relations with the important buyers in the country, where they were going to and also consider opening warehouses, where Pakistani exporters could store goods in the foreign countries and provide prompt delivery to the customers.
He also advised the counsellors that they could also help arranging trade fairs, so the exporters could practically and effectively introduced their products to the foreign buyers.