Govt urged to check exports of steel scraps

KARACHI: Pakistan’s commercial section in Spain has advised the Ministry of Commerce to minimise the export of steel scrap and ban the export of forgings, semi-finished and unfinished surgical instruments, as these make India and China gain more share in the exports of surgical instruments.

In a report to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), commercial section in Spain noted the export of steel scrap was causing great issues for the metal-related industries, as scrap was the major source of locally produced stainless steel. “In addition, Representatives of Surgical Instrument Manufacturers Association (SIMAP) of Pakistan are of the view that exports of semi and unfinished products are critical components for the decline in exports of surgical instruments, as countries such as India and China, which lack manufacturing or technical skills in this field, import such product from Pakistan and apply branding approaches for the finished products,” the report said.

Commercial section in Spain urged TDAP to focus efforts into developing Pakistani brands of surgical instruments. It noted that China and India through the intensified efforts of brand development and promotion were able to improve exports into the European Union.

Although, Pakistan makes up a very small share of the world trade of surgical instruments, the local industry enjoys many skilled workers, providing for great potential to enhance exports of these products. Pakistan’s surgical instruments are exported to highly developed markets such as Germany, France, United State, United Kingdom, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil.

The export of surgical instruments is one of Pakistan’s five prime export-oriented sectors. However, it has been facing numerous problems.

The leakage of production technology, the rise in the cost of production, and the export of steel scrap were creating large issues for the metal-related industries.

Pakistan’s overall surgical goods and medical instruments exports stood at $379.03 million for the year ended June 30, 2018, up 1.55 percent compared with the exports of $339.7 million in the previous year.