PCMEA calls for devising long-term export policy

LAHORE (APP): Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) Senior Vice Chairman Usman Ashraf said on Sunday that the government should formulate short and long-term policies in consultation with stakeholders to solve the problems faced by the hand-woven carpet industry and to promote exports.

He made this demand while addressing the PCMEA Annual General Meeting here. Carpet Training Institute (CTI) Chairman Ejazur Rehman, senior central leader Abdul Latif Malik, senior member Riaz Ahmed, Major (Rtd) Akhtar Nazir, Saeed Khan, Shahid Hasan Sheikh, Faisal Saeed Khan and other members also attended the AGM.

Usman Ashraf added, “In order to solve the problems of manufacturers and exporters, the Association is enhancing contacts with related institutions including the State Bank and with foreign embassies to remove the difficulties faced in obtaining visas, which have yielded positive results.”

In the meeting, the performance of the association for the year 2023 was reviewed, and the participants also presented various suggestions for the current year, on which the progress was reiterated.

Usman Ashraf has proposed to mobilize Pakistani embassies and consultative council consisting of stakeholders under the auspices of the government for the promotion of exports and access to the markets of different countries and good thing is that actions have been taken on an emergency basis to manage the economy.

He said that without increasing the exports, the economy cannot be stabilized in any way, the policies based on ad hocism should be abandoned while considering the ground realities to formulate long-term policies.
He urged the government to patronize the manufacturers and exporters. It is commendable that the caretaker commerce minister expressed his deep interest in promoting exports, but to achieve results, practical measures should be ensured without any delay. “Participation in all kinds of international exhibitions should be ensured and a separate budget should be allocated for the financial support of those who wish to participate. Pakistani embassies, especially commercial attachés, should be mobilized for the promotion of exports and targets should be set for them,” he concluded.