Abdul Razak Dawood, adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan for Commerce and Investment gave an interview to the government’s news agency where he expressed the optimism that the country’s export would reach $ 50 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2023.
The acclaimed target would be achieved by adopting the policy of diversification in the trade sector and by reaching out to new markets. He said that the country was lagging in the export of non-traditional sector as pointed out by US Secretary of State for Commerce when he visited Pakistan in the recent past.
Therefore, the prime focus of the government’s policy will be to enhance the export of unconventional products mainly from the engineering and pharmaceuticals industry. He also mentioned that the government wants to move up the trajectory of encouraging international brands to set up their industrial plants in Pakistan. He referred to it as the ‘Made in Pakistan’ policy which will eventually lead to the abundance of local products in the international market.
Most of the export goods were from the traditional markets like textile which had made the export growth rate static. he said that “Geographical trade diversification and search for new markets will further increase our exports.” In this regard, the government wants to expand its consumer market to Africa, Europe, and the United States.
Responding to a question related to engineered goods, Razak highlighted that the production of motorcycles has already started in Pakistan which will increase its annual export to 30,000,000 motorcycles. He also announced that the Japanese company Honda will set up its manufacturing plant in Pakistan which will help the company earn the export revenue of $30 million from Pakistan.
While answering another question, he mentioned that the IT exports grew at a rate of 47% this year crossing the figure of $2 billion. The government had successfully met its target of exports worth $25 billion in the previous fiscal year and has set a target of 38.5 to $40 billion for the fiscal year 2021-22 which shows evident progress in the trade sector.
