ISLAMABAD: Textile exporters should focus on research and development (R&D) and quality-related certifications to meet international standards, panelists at a webinar said while discussing the tariff disadvantage for Pakistani products in Canada.

The webinar ‘Textile sector exporters to Canada’ was organised by the Consulate-General of Pakistan in Toronto on Thursday by High Commissioner Raza Bashir Tarar. The panelists underlined that textile trade-related bottlenecks including lack of exporters’ database, lack of focus on research and development, high cost of utilities, high landing cost due to MFN tariffs, and high tax rates were there.

Speaking on the occasion, Consul General Abdul Hameed urged Pakistani exporters to go for opportunities in the international market and utilise the present upsurge in Pakistan’s exports to enhance and modernise their manufacturing systems.

He highlighted the huge size of Canada’s apparel retail market of $28 billion which is expected to grow to $29.5bn by 2025. The Canadian market is highly competitive where e-commerce is gaining more popularity than traditional retailers, he added. Total exports of textile sector of Pakistan to Canada were around 1.3 per cent of the latter’s total textile imports.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2020