KARACHI, Sept 26: Present high growth in Pakistan’s exports is likely to be discouraged due to various barriers i.e. high tariffs, technical barriers, quality standards and compliance regulators, limited supply capacity and weak trade-related infrastructure, say experts at national seminar here on Monday.

The seminar was organized to discus the findings of a detailed survey on “Barriers to trade in Pakistan” to assess and identify the nature of trade barriers facing Pakistani producers and exporters to enter new markets.

This survey was conducted by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration with Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI). It was based on 153 leading exporters covering all major sectors of the economy especially textiles, leather, agro-food processing and fisheries.

Findings of the survey were verified through a series of validation workshops held in various industrial centres of Pakistan.

The recommendations and the final report would provide guidance in developing policy and capacity improvement strategies enabling Pakistani industrialists and exporters to meet TBT requirements, address barriers to international trade and become globally competitive for more exports.

The main recommendations harvested from this marathon meeting included restructuring of Central Board of Revenue, improvement in customs procedures, flow of information and documentation related to regulations and distribution/ collection system, upgradation of transport and communication facilities, further improvement in law and order situation through reforms in law enforcing institutions and judicial reforms.—APP