December 27, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 22, 1423

KARACHI, Dec 26: Pakistan’s strategic planners are looking with growing concern and anxiety the visible improvement in net growth of India as compared to Pakistan, forcing them to consider a basic shift in domestic policies that should now focus on growth and employment generation.

“Imagine where would we be placed after 10 or 20 years if India continues to maintain the current edge on improvement on net growth,” the Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan told a meeting of business leaders on Thursday organized by Export Promotion Bureau. He said the net growth is the rate calculated after adjusting population growth with gross domestic production (GDP).

“Higher growth and more jobs” he spelt out the thrust of the proposed new shift in policy after achieving macroeconomic stability as the existing policies focussed entirely on revenue generation and narrowing fiscal deficit.

Speaking his mind he said that policies would have to be set in place to take advantage of industrial relocation now going on in developed countries. He said Pakistan had missed the opportunity earlier when Japan and other developed countries decided to relocate their electronic and automobile industries.

“No revolutionary change,” he made it clear while stressing that shift in approach and direction had to be through an “evolutionary process” and in accordance with conditions spelt out by Pakistan’s major donors. His message was that the shift in approach would be made with full consent of international donors.

On trade relations with India Humayun Akhtar repeated his assertion that no headway could be made till the time there is a political dialogue focussing on the core issue that has embittered relationship between the two countries.

“But we have made significant headway in South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA),” he said while informing the businessmen on trade relationship within Saarc. He was, however, clear that there is possibility of headway towards South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) mainly because of Pakistan’s position vis-a-vis India.

The commerce minister’s concern was Pakistan’s position in international trade after 2005 when all trade barriers would be dismantled and Pakistan’s industry would be exposed to international competition.

China and India were two countries, Humayun Akhtar named, which could give Pakistan some tough time in the international trade after 2005.

As a part of strategy, he said, the Export Promotion Bureau is being massively restructured and training programmes are being designed for officials with funding from Asian Development Bank. He said that there is a proposal to provide training to the EPB officials in IBA and LUMS.

At present, he said Pakistan is known as a 10-countries 10- items export regime country and there is all the need for product and geographical diversification in export strategy.

Earlier, the chairman of Export Promotion Bureau and Minister of State Tariq Ikram spoke of 16 per cent improvement in overall export performance stressing that there had been an all round improvement. He said the traditional items have shown 16 per cent rise while the non-traditional goods export is up by 41 per cent.

On a a global scale he said Pakistan’s share in 500 trillion dollars annual trade is merely 0.2 per cent which shows both a challenge and opportunity to the traders.

In the question-answer session, more than a dozen business leaders came down heavily on the Export Promotion Bureau. Almost all of them complained that the bureau officials from chairman to directors are either inaccessible or many of them have now comprehensions or power to take decisions.

Leader of the jewel and gem industry claimed that he could push up jewellery export to one billion dollars a year provided the government accepts his proposals.

Shabbir Ahmad a leading bedwear exporter said the deadline set for offering explanation to EU on bed linen dumping issue is January 2 and not January 27 as informed by Bureau in a press report.

Yusuf Abdul Rehman of Pakistan Vegetable and Fruit Exporters Association raised the issue of wooden crate and paper board cartons as packaging material for export of citrus. He blamed that an elite class of a few exporters are out to push out small exporters from business by forcing government to declare a ban on use of wooden crates.

Social and environmental compliance are the other issues that are agitating Pakistani business who want a free hand in dealing with their employees as they insist that labour laws have been framed against business interest.