ISLAMABAD: The cutlery sector in Wazirabad re­­ceived technological upgra­­dation under the second phase of the European Union-funded Trade Related Tech­nical Assistance (TRTA-II) programme.

The TRTA programme, being administered by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), selected two cutlery manufacturing units in Wazirabad on cost-sharing basis to upgrade the polishing sections. The intervention aims to increase production capacities of the units along with uniform product quality.

In Wazirabad — also known as the ‘City of Cutlery’ — there are more than 500 cutlery manufacturing small and medium enterprises in and around the city.

A wide range of products including, swords, daggers, knives and kitchen utensils are manufactured in Wazirabad. Total export of this industry is around $90 million while it provides employment to more than 25,000 locals.

EU Ambassador, Jean Francois who formally inaugurated the project, said in the face of severe competition, Pakistani manufacturers need to adopt latest technology to comply with the social standards demanded by the customers of high end markets in the countries of European Union and the United States.

UNIDO Country Repre­sen­­­­­tative in Pakistan, Esam Alqararah said a benchmarking study initiated under the programme identified issues faced by the cutlery sector. These include low levels of productivity, inadequate technology up­­gra­­­­dation, poor performance management systems and shortage of skilled and semi skilled staff.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd , 2016