GUJRAT: Soaring prices of raw material may compel local electric fan makers to suspend production since appeals made to the federal government are going unanswered.

Moreover, the ministry of science and technology has been pressing the local fan industry for its inclusion into the mandatory list of Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) regime for which the local manufacturers do not have the capacity.

Newly-elected chairman of the Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association (Pefma) Rameez Dar told Dawn (after attending the maiden meeting of the association) the prices of electric fans might increase up to 300 to 400 per cent in case of using imported raw material due to tax duty and other levies to meet the standards of PSQCA.

He said the government should withdraw duty on import of electrical steel sheet and other such raw material to convince the industry for manufacturing of energy efficient fans.

Pefma seeks ban on scrap export

“Since the local fan industry has been a small and medium scaled engineering sector, at least 90 per cent of the units may not be able to bear the brunt of imposition of such a standard regime which could further result in the closure of such units as manufacturing cost and country’s import bill may increase manifold in case for importing the raw material,” Dar said. He wondered why the Pakistani authorities, instead of imposing the standard regime of PSQCA on the imported items of electric fans, had been pressing the local industry to adopt the standard regime which could cost the industry heavily.

For instance, he said if a Pakistani manufacturer had to export any product to China, he had to pass through a hectic process of standards and other procedures.

He said the export of scrap from Pakistan had caused a shortage of raw material as well as increased its rates in domestic market which should be stopped to facilitate the local fan industry that had been struggling for the last more than a year whereas heavy import duty had also been levied on the electrical steel sheet, another basic raw material for the production of energy efficient fans.

Pefma has urged the federal government to take measures for the provision of raw material on controlled rates and demanded an end to export of scrap.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2021