ISLAMABAD - Chairman of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Capital Office, Karim Aziz Malik on Saturday said that export-led growth is necessary for economic revival in the country, which will increase the trend of economic development in the country.
At this time, search for new potential markets and product diversification is very important for export-led growth in the country to enhance the economic growth, Chairman, FPCCI Capital Office Karim Aziz Malik told APP here.
The chairman said that the government has to explore new markets for market diversification and increase regional trade, which will also improve the business trend in the country. Along with this, new sectors have to be brought into the field for product diversification and for this, value added products have to be introduced in all important business sectors, he said.
Malik said that after Covid-19, obstacles have arisen in the global supply value chain, adding that Pakistan also has to align itself with the global supply value chain, which will increase domestic exports.
He said that value addition in agriculture and development of agri- industry is necessary so that a country’s exports can increase its export volume.
He said that this year there was a record export of rice with a volume of $ 3.5 billion and in the next one-year rice exports will reach $5 billion. Senior business leaders said that rice is currently the second largest sector in the country’s exports and there is a need to make it zero-rated like other export sectors.
Malik said that for the economic revival in the country, energy prices have to be brought equal to the regional countries so that the domestic industry can develop. He said that Central Asian countries are very important for the promotion of regional trade and there are great opportunities for Pakistan’s trade there. He said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) should reduce the interest rate so that the Rs 30 trillion lying in the country’s banks can be used for the promotion of business and investment in the country.
Chairman FPCCI said that the government has to fix the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) system to increase the tax revenue, saying new taxes of Rs 1700 billion will increase the inflation in the country. He said that the government should adopt the austerity measures and also speed up the process of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) privatization to stop the irrelevant expenditure of the government. He said that it is possible to reduce the government expenditure by reducing the interest rate by 550 basis points. He proposed tax reforms and enhancing the tax net for increasing the tax revenue collection for economic growth in the country. Malik said that relief should be given to the public.
