'Hard decisions needed to sort out economic problems'

President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain, has said that the best solution to economy-related problems is to take hard and unpopular decisions.
He said that tax collection has improved but insufficient to meet requirements and despite some improvement in the large-scale manufacturing, the most important sector of textile was still in troubled waters. He said exports were in free fall for years which posed a threat to the economic stability.
"Exports are falling while imports continue to grow which is putting pressure on the forex reserves therefore government should take concrete steps to boost exports," he urged.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that dwindling exports, if not controlled, would increase dependence on loans which was against the national interests.
He said that exports had fallen by 8% in 2014-15 and by 12.5% in 2015-16. He said that the first quarter of the current fiscal year witnessed exports' fall by another 9%.
"During the same period, imports grew by ten percent widening the fiscal deficit by 29 percent while reduction in the remittances and dismal agricultural position further stifled the situation," he said, urging that the textile sector should prefer value-addition and compete with rivals on the basis of quality and not on the basis of prices.
PBIF president suggested that every major city should have showrooms displaying export goods such as textiles, sports goods, leather goods, cutlery etc which would facilitate buyers from other countries.