KARACHI, Aug 3: Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said on Tuesday the government would undertake a pilot project to boost production and export of cut flowers on a large scale.
He was speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce, presided over by committee chairman Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan, at the Export Promotion Bureau.
The committee was briefed on the Trade Policy 2004-05 and performance of the EPB by its chairman Tariq Ikram. Members National Assembly, including Ms Kashmala Tariq, Dr Fahmida Mirza, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Mrs Afsar Begum, Mrs Tahira Asif, Dr Arza Fazal Pechuho, Syed Naveed Qamar, Sardar Jaffar Khan Leghari, Mohammad Farhan Latif, the additional secretary of commerce and vice-chairman and senior officials of the EPB were also present on the occasion.
The minister was of the view that the production and export of cut flowers was a high tech issue and the private sector alone could not undertake such big project. This project will be managed by the professional people from the private sector under a corporate entity on the lines of textile city management, he added.
Mr Khan said the government would fund the project that will have a public private partnership on a 50-50 basis. The minister said that he had invited a Kenyan firm which was producing and exporting cut flowers on a very large scale.
This company has a very large orchard of flowers over 6,000 square feet, working on modern lines and computerized network to control, temperature, climate and water intake, he added.
He said that Kenya was the largest exporter of cut flowers in the world with an export amount of $650 million. In reply to a question by Naveed Qamar, the minister said the federal government would contribute 50 per cent of the cost of rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities at all industrial areas, while provincial governments, district governments and the private sector would share the rest.
Mr Khan said Pakistani textile exporters would need a support of 10 per cent cost difference after the removal of quota regime in 2005. Responding to a demand of Dr Azra Pechuhjo for reducing Wapda's rate to the sugar industry, the minister suggested that sugar industry should make this presentation to the government.
On the air transportation of fruits, the minister said the government had provided Rs450 million to PIA to carry Pakistani fruits to foreign destinations, but they could not compete.
On flooding of foreign goods in Pakistani market, Mr Khan said that affected industry had been asked to file complaint for initiating anti-dumping and counter-veiling duties but they did not do so.
Talking about buyer-driven FDI strategy, the minister said that top leadership of Pakistan had been requested to meet and invite top bosses of large companies to Pakistan in selected areas during their visits to foreign countries.
On implications of the WTO, the minister said that Pakistan's agriculture productions were totally protected and these was only a win-win situation for Pakistan in the post-WTO scenario. -APP
