January 21, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 20, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 20: After the approval by the prime minister, the Trade Development Authority (TDA) is to be formed through an act within next two months to independently take care of country’s export promotion and marketing development activities.

The main task of the authority would be to focus on supply chain of different export goods so that the country could achieve export target of $30 billion by the year 2010.

This was stated by Minister for State and Export Promotion Bureau chairman Tariq Ikram while talking to Dawn before leaving for US along with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on January 18.

For long it was being strongly felt that policymaking and execution were two separate areas which should be handled independently and with full authority to meet the fast changes taking place in the global market, he added.

Consequently, he said, a well-thought and well-designed programme was made for establishing an independent body in the form of an authority that would be solely responsible for export promotion and its development activities to achieve a quantum jump in exports.

Mr Ikram said that the proposed authority would execute policies and plans laid down by the Ministry of Commerce but

it would have full authority

and powers to operate independently.

The main thrust of the TDA, the EPB chief said, would be to concentrate on supply side and cited an example that in boosting of exports of marble and granite very little could be done at this stage until and unless we work hard to improve its supply side.

However, this could not be done by only announcing policies but it needed huge investment and induction of technology to promote exports, which were stagnant at around $18 to $19 million per annum.

Against this, he said, there was big scope of enhancing marble and granite exports and this was only possible if we introduce new technology and know-how to face competition and quality being produced by Western countries.

Looking at these issues, the minister said that without having full authority and powers the country could do little to further boost its exports. Besides diversification, he said, the thrust would be to take care and work on the supply side of goods and services meant for export.

Similarly, he said, our commercial counsellors who do have business acumen and marketing skills submit their reports to the ministry but typical bureaucratic approach normally frustrate their work and required results were never achieved. Therefore, in future the authority would directly interact with them and also try to prepare export policies based on their reports.

However, he said that the strength of these counsellors would have to be increased. He also stressed upon the need for improving manpower skills in the EPB which would be retained by the authority once it comes into being. “The TDA is going to be private/public sector blend to achieve high goals”, he added.

The authority, he said, would have dedicated team of workers and the EPB had already hired the services of eight executive directors, some of them belong to the EPB, to ensure smooth and healthy formation of the new organization.

He further said that world class consultants had been hired to develop organizational strategy and human resource in order to focus on ‘supply chain’ which would be the key word for quantum jump in exports.

Mr Ikram said after the Act of establishing the authority was approved it would take six months for putting the entire structure of the organization together and another six months to complete the development process of the TDA.

He hoped that the prime minister would give his approval to the formation of authority on his return from the US visit.