April 25, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1429

LAHORE, April 24: The All Pakistan Cottage Industry and Small Traders Welfare Association urged the government on Thursday to give dealership of Pakistan Steel Mills products to small traders.

The association’s chairman, Ghulam Sarwar Malik, said in a statement that the traders were suffering due to non-availability of CP-1 pig iron in the market.

An artificial shortage of the products used mainly by the sewing machine industry had been created by a handful of PSM dealers, which control the supply of steel products in open market.

He said that the government should direct the PSM to give dealership of CP-1 pig iron to the small traders and sewing machine industry, which are the main users of the product.

He criticised the previous government for pushing the cottage industry to the wall by following a discriminatory policy. The present government should announce a special package for the industry in the federal budget as millions of small businessmen are involved in this trade, he added.