Pakistan’s total exports of goods and services have remained stagnant at an average of around $30 billion annually for the last decade or so. In spite of tall claims and high target settings each year, the government has not been successful in increasing exports significantly in value and in volume. The static trend in exports is likely to continue as there seems to be no sign of improvement in the near future given the adverse economic conditions and political instability. In fact, exports have been gradually declining as a percentage of GDP.
There are a variety of factors behind the dismal export performance, which include poor governance, low productivity, high cost of production and obsolete technology, besides the fact that export promotion has never been a priority for any government. Most importantly, the lack of vision in terms of increasing exports in the long-term leads the government to pass counterproductive and myopic policies. To effectively compete in the highly competitive and fast-moving global economy, it is imperative that the government work out a multi-pronged strategy to gradually replace traditional items of raw materials and intermediate goods with value-added engineering goods as the country’s main exports.
Hussain Siddiqui
Islamabad
Cities and their suburbs or satellite towns ought to be celebrated for their modern amenities and cleanliness....
This letter refers to the news report ‘Rules being amended to remove upper age bar to hire top professionals’ . In...
In response to an earlier Israeli attack on its diplomatic facilities in Syria, Iranian forces retaliated by firing...
In most democratic states, the executive is often subordinate to the legislature in word and deed. Pakistan,...
In today's world, with all the amazing technology and progress we see, you might think people are really growing and...
India, often touted as the world's largest democracy, will begin holding its general elections from April 19. The BJP...