SIALKOT: President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Muhammad Ashraf Malik in a press statement said that incentive schemes for the exporters are vital to keep the industry competitive in the international market especially considering the peculiar situation of the economy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SCCI President further said that the Prime Minister Incentive Program (DDT and LTLD) launched in 2016 provided a much-needed boost to the Export Sector with 7 percent drawback and acted as a catalyst to reverse the downward trend of exports at that time. He, however, lamented that the rate of drawback, which was later reduced to 3 percent should have remained at 7 percent to achieve the desired targets.

The President Chamber referring to the recent statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding priority of his government to run the economy on strong foundations to create livelihood opportunities, increase trust among foreign investors and enable local industries to flourish, stressed that the rate of drawback vide SRO 711(I)/2018 (Non-Textile) and Order No. 1 (42-B)TID/18-TR-II (Textile) should be enhanced to 7 percent to achieve the said targets of export, the Ministry of Commerce is setting under forthcoming Strategic Trade Policy Framework. He said that an increase in the drawback rate is the need of the hour for the crisis struck export industry to bounce back and strive for an increase in exports.

Ashraf was of the view that the COVID-19 pandemic has opened new avenues of trade for the exporters including the manufacturing and export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). "The Federal Government should also consider incentivizing the PPE Exporters to encourage them to gain maximum market share" he added. He said that it was the right time for Pakistan to gear up for proving its mettle in the Personal Protective Equipment Industry as its market size is expected to grow to US 87.67 Billion dollars by 2027.

Ashraf Malik also stressed that the revolutionary facilitation of the Federal Government to provide the exporters with special electricity and LNG rates at US Cents 7.5 per kWh and USD 6.5 per MMBTU should be continued for at least 2 years. He said that the incentive in energy inputs would allow the exporters to fight against international market pressures by the competition.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020