ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has been taking various steps to increase exports and reduce imports to strengthen the national economy, WealthPK reports.
Trade plays a significant role in the economic development of any country. Keeping in view the devaluation of its currency, Pakistan needs to promote trade with other countries and increase exports. The government has been taking various steps to stabilise the currency and strengthen the national economy.
Dr Javed Iqbal, a trade economist at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, told WealthPK that Pakistan’s exports increased in some sectors of the economy. “Some sectors, however, still need to improve exports. The government should implement export-oriented policies to increase foreign exchange reserves,” he added.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports of sports goods from the country witnessed an increase of 29.36% during the first five months of the current fiscal compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Pakistan exported sports goods worth $174.034 million during the first five months of the ongoing fiscal compared to $135.034 million in the same period of the previous financial year. The exports of football increased more than 60% to $101.976 million from $63.671 million. The exports of all other sports goods increased by 5.56% to $41.843 million from $39.639 million recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
The export of furniture from Pakistan increased by 80.46% in the first five months of the current fiscal.
According to Pakistan Furniture Council head Mian Kashif Ashfaq, this year, furniture exports rose to $6.8 million compared to $3.6 million during the same period of the previous fiscal.
He said that the country’s furniture industry had big potential to dominate the global market with innovative designs. However, he said that a package of incentives was necessary for the exporters to further boost exports.
Dr Javed Iqbal said that the exports of jewellery from the country also increased by 4.29% and reached $4.4 million against $4.2 million recorded in the first five months of the previous fiscal.
He said that the Pakistani machinery manufacturing industry was small and could not fulfil the demand of consumers. “Some basic items such as medicines, surgical instruments, automobiles, cell phones and construction and materials have been imported from abroad,” he added.
Dr Javed Iqbal said that a negative trend was witnessed in the export of textile items. Textile is the main sector of Pakistan’s economy. The sector needs to increase exports to overcome the prevailing economic crisis. The exports of textile items decreased by 19% in November this year.
The textile sector plays a significant role in supporting the economy. It remains in the spotlight owing to the country’s dependence on foreign exchange. This vital sector, which also provides job opportunities to a large of people, contributed around 61% to total exports of $31.8 billion during the previous financial year.
“The government needs to intervene to increase domestic production of cotton that can cater to the requirements of the industry. The sector should be supported to see a massive increase in the export of textile products,” Dr Javed Iqabl told WealthPK.
