ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: Pakistan will seek greater access to the US market for its textile products during the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Washington in September this year.
“I was dissatisfied with what was offered to Pakistan by the United States. It was too little and we would be taking up the issue again during the President’s September visit,” said Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood here on Tuesday at a news conference. The president is expected to visit Washington on September 11.
He said that high electricity and gas prices were big challenge in making Pakistani industry internationally competitive. “I want to make the local industry internationally competitive but yes, I admit that utility prices are too high and a big challenge we have to face,” the minister replied when asked as to how he expected to make exports internationally competitive when utility prices were so high as compared to other competitors. Pakistan is required under the WTO regime to eliminate all protections to the domestic industry.
The minister was, however, jubilant over 19.3 per cent increase in exports during July 2002 compared with the same period last year.
He said that it was the highest ever export figure for the month of July since 1983, and first ever to cross $800m mark. Exports during July amounted to $815.987m against $683.919m of the same month last year.
He did not agree that this increase might have been because of some adjustments of June. He said that since February this year exports had been showing rising trend and increased from $654m in February to $964m in June. He explained that exports always remain low during the month of July.
Mr Razak said that he had convened a meeting of all cotton stakeholders on Wednesday (Aug 7) in Lahore to pursue the clean cotton campaign and discuss all cotton related problems and issues.
He expressed satisfaction that cotton consumption in Pakistan was going up and hoped that it would cross 12 million bales by next year. He said that five or six new mega finishing plants had recently become operative and more garment factories were coming up soon.
The minister said that imports during the first month of the current fiscal year had also gone up by 17 per cent and amounted to $926m against $791m last year.
He agreed that it would be seen as a positive development if imports increased in raw material and machinery as against increase in oil imports, which would be seen as a negative sign.
To a question, the minister agreed that imposition of Rs5 per kg CED on import of raw sugar was a reversal of the government policy of free market mechanism but this was taken to protect the farmers. The decision should not have any impact on domestic prices of the sugar, he said.
To another question, he said that export and import targets for July could not be made available immediately. He was also unaware as to where $100m credit line provided by China for the import of textile machinery was being utilized and promised to get back with the information sometime later.