Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, has expressed satisfaction with the results of the product and geographical export diversification strategy, adopted by the Ministry of Commerce.
The Advisor to PM was given a detailed briefing at the Ministry on the product and geographical export diversification and was informed that diversification of exports was an important pillar of Pakistan’s export strategy.
He was told that the Ministry had launched a number of initiatives aimed at product and market diversification of exports including Look Africa Policy, Reconnect Silk Route policy for Central Asian Republics (CARs), Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL), rationalization of tariff on key imports for non-traditional products, second phase of China-Pakistan FTA and other Market Access Initiatives, including EU-GSP Plus scheme, Competitive Energy Prices, Early Opening During COVID-19, STPF Policy Initiatives, and E-Commerce Initiatives, etc.
Dawood was informed that the Ministry of Commerce was focusing both on diversification within the traditional product sectors, like technical textiles and other specialized product sectors, where currently there was little or no export, and the non-traditional product sectors.
He was informed that the Ministry had conducted an in-depth analysis on the degree of export diversification between the average exports between 2015 and 2018 which was then compared with 2020-21. The analysis showed that for the traditional markets, the export of traditional products increased by 7% with a net increase of USD 1,028 million. In the same markets, the export of non-traditional products increased by 60%, a net increase of USD 2,022 million in value.
He was informed that for the non-traditional markets, the export of traditional products decreased by 1% or USD 33 million. Unlike this, the export of non-traditional products increased by 77% with an increase of USD 713 million.
The Advisor appreciated the work done by the Ministry and stated, “Product export diversification has to be coupled with geographical diversification to new markets like Africa and South America.” He said that the policy had just begun to show results but there was still a long way to go in this regard.
