Subdued exports spark blame game
KARACHI: At a time when export shipments are slowing, a rare blame game has surfaced between the federal government and exporters, each accusing the other of responsibility for the country’s falling exports. The issue came into the public spotlight on Thursday when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, addressing the Pakistan Stock Exchange via video link, categorically expressed dissatisfaction with…
The recent slowdown in export shipments has sparked a blame game between the federal government and exporters in Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed dissatisfaction with exporters' performance despite the provision of several incentives in the budget. However, Jawed Bilwani, the former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Coordinator of the All Pakistan Exporters Association Forum, blamed the federal government for not implementing export-friendly policies.
Bilwani highlighted the numerous challenges faced by exporters, including high manufacturing costs, lack of competitiveness, and absence of a level playing field. He also criticized the imposition of taxes and duties on imported yarn under the Export Facilitation Scheme, which created additional liquidity pressures without benefiting the local yarn industry.
Bilwani urged the government to establish an emergency cell at the Prime Minister's Office to ensure reliable and competitive export logistics, pointing to costly utilities and frequent outages as factors slowing export growth.
Brief written by urgent.news from Dawn Business's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
