Production time

The Covid-19 virus has resulted in excessive procurement of many equipment and disposables that are used during this epidemic and we see situations where countries are fighting over supply. Covid-19 will probably take the whole year to subside. That means the demand for some items would be very high and Pakistan can use this opportunity to increase exports. For example, the WHO has issued production guides for hand sanitizers. The requirement for it's production is ethanol which can be produced in sugar mills. Pakistan has 750 pharmaceutical companies, 50 sugar mills and numerous plastic bottle manufacturers that can be utilized to manufacture hand sanitizers for the world and Pakistan.

The government can promote this by issuing licencs and then also purchasing the finished product for use in hospitals, and export some stock to other countries as G2G help or sale. Which will introduce Pakistani products to new customers in new countries. Similarly, hundreds of stitching companies can be used to manufacture PPE suits. The government can provide guidelines for manufacturing, material to use, sterilization and packing to help create quality products for export. Washable and fashionable face mask and gloves can also be manufactured. Similarly, the plastic industry can also be used to manufacture face mask holders, face covers, goggles etc.

Dr Rohail Baseer

Peshawar