September 24, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 30, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) is making development strategy for the wire rod, wire manufacturers and down stream industry for improving its competitiveness in the international market.

This was stated by The Engineering Development Board chief executive officer Imtiaz Rastgar in a meeting with the representatives of the industry here on Saturday.

"Tariffs protection is a marketing tool only for the domestic market," he said, adding that the sector had to look onward to solve its problem of energy and production wastages that could cut the price by 25 per cent which no measure of tariff protection could give.

He said the stakeholders had to prepare recession proof plans, as single market and product base would not result in required growth of the sector.

Mr Rastgar said the The Engineering Development Board would continue discussion with different segments of the sector and their problems would be examined in depth so that the strategies could be results oriented.

However, he pleaded that the sector should not lobby only for tariffs protection, as it would not improve its competitiveness in the world market.

Mr Rastgar also referred to the tariff protection provided to the sector in the present budget and said it should result in market expansion of the sector.

The representatives of the industry raised the issues of dumping, under-invoicing, raw-material storage, quality, improvement in business environment.

They also underlined the need of new production technology that could save energy at much larger scale.