FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD), working under the commerce ministry, is imparting practical training on scientific lines not only to the government officers but also to the private sector to revitalise economy on solid and sustained basis.
This was stated by PITAD Director Training Qazafi Rind during his visit to the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), along with probationers of specialized training courses, here on Thursday. He said that a yearlong common training programme was arranged for the young entrants while specialised training courses were also organised in special fields. Top class faculty are invited from LUMS, NUST and other leading universities to deliver lectures on relevant topics, he added. He said that PITAD had also arranged special training workshops for the promotion of e-commerce and this facility was enjoyed not only by male participants but also by the housewives.
He said that PITAD also plays its role as a policy think tank. ‘Dif
ferent organizations provide data regarding the economy and we analyze it and, on its basis, viable recommendations are forwarded to the government through concerned ministries’, he said and added that the government also tries within its resources to facilitate the industrialists, traders and exporters in accordance with these recommendations.
He quoted his posting in Algeria and said that this country was importing textile products worth $ 2 billion per annum but out of it, Pakistan’s share is only $ 8 million. Our textile exports are restricted to only bed sheets and terry towels, he added.
He said that Pakistani rice is popular all over the world but this business is controlled by Indian companies based in Dubai. He also quoted Alger International Exhibitions and said that he had arranged two hundred visas for Pakistanis who participated in it. Most of them belonged to Sialkot, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Last year 50 Pakistanis representing 20 companies attended the Alger Intentional Fair, he added.
He sa
id that Faisalabad is contributing the lion’s share in textile export, adding that there was huge demand for wrinkle free and iron free cloth and our exporters must play their key role in capturing this market.
He said that inflation is a global issue which was complicating issues particularly for the weak and vulnerable economy. He claimed that PITAD is the only organisation which is most responsive and every inquiry is responded to in-time.
He mentioned some policy decisions and said that agriculture policy is the basis of industrial policy and trade policy is based on it. Generally these policies are not responsive to the international markets due to missing links in our domestic policies, he added.
Qazafi Rind urged the exporters to remain in touch with the Export Promotion Committee (EPC) for the resolution of their genuine export related issues. ‘Its meetings are held every month’, he said and added that the exporters from Faisalabad could also participate in it through zoom while meetings of EPC cou
ld also be arranged in Faisalabad considering the gravity of the issues.
Earlier, Dr Sajjad Arshad Senior Vice President FCCI welcomed the guests and probationers and said that Faisalabad was textile hub of Pakistan which was contributing 60% share towards the total textile export of the country in addition to providing 40% jobs to the workers.
Pinpointing the problems about commerce and trade, he said that cheap capital was required for expeditious industrial growth but the government had borrowed Rs.7.7 trillion from banks leaving only 2.6 bn for the private sector.
He said that it is next to impossible to invest in Pakistan with markup at the rate of 2.5%. ‘It is a stumbling block to attract FDI’, he said and added that corporate tax was also as high as 70% while the rate of electricity is also Rs.70 per unit.
He said that we harvested bumper crops this year and were able to export agricultural commodities worth Rs.8 bn. We must switch over to value addition instead of exporting raw material to earn ma
ximum profit, he added.
He said that more production resulted in decline in rates of different commodities and growers could not get even the production cost of their produce.
He further said that the global volume of noodle trade is $57bn, but we failed to avail from this opportunity.
Responding to a question about the 70% undocumented economy, Dr Sajjad Arshad said that it is our clear stance that every individual must pay tax but there is no uniformity in the taxation system.
He said that the share of agriculture in GDP is 23% but its share in taxes is only 1%. We must shun the culture of the dubbing business community as tax evaders and in this connection the business community, politician, military and civil bureaucracy and judiciary must take a unified stand, he demanded.
He said that traders were ready to pay three times more taxes but they were reluctant to become part of the tax net due to the unnecessary harassment by tax collectors.
Later, Vice President FCCI Hajji Muhammad Aslam Bhalli offer
ed vote of thanks while Dr Sajjad Arshad and Qazafi Rind exchanged shields of their respective organizations.