The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) have selected two international consultants to promote the textile and apparel exports.
As many as ten consultant firms, both international and local had responded to the tender issued by TDAP as a part of its new initiative to increase the exports of the country by hiring reputable consultants to help the concerned industry.
There are only six firms out of ten, which applied, participated in the bidding, held on Thursday. Meanwhile, only two international consultant firms, Gherzi and Werner qualified for the purpose of facilitating the stakeholders to increase the exports of these items. Gherzi is Switzerland based firm whereas Werner is from USA.
Swiss consultant firm Gherzi has already worked for Textile Ministry and prepared a detail report on the country's textile sector, earlier in the past. Sources at TDAP said that these consultants would facilitate TDAP and its stakeholders in the planned overhauling and revamping of textile and apparel sector, and would subsequently be doing the same for the leather, carpets, surgical instruments, sports, meat & poultry, pharmaceutical, gems and jewellery and the engineering sector.
Source said that Marketing & Business Development Division of TDAP, through this initiative wanted to assist the textile and apparel sector of Pakistan in order to reposition it for long term competitiveness in the world markets.
They told to Business Reorder that hiring of consultants to boost the exports would also be a part of the new financial year trade policy, and more consultants would be hired for other sectors after textile and apparel success.
However, the exporters of textile and apparel have reservations in this regard, as they are of the opinion that the international consultants Gherzi and Werner had no expertise in value added apparel sector and their understanding of this sector was not accurate.