‘Great scope for Pakistani products in US’

Karachi
Our products are of a very high quality and have a massive export potential. The only aspect where we lag behind in the field of exports is projection.
These were the views expressed by Syed Waseem Akhtar, president, Pakistan Chamber of Commerce (PCC), Houston, Texas, USA, while addressing journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday evening.
A US national, Akhtar, was all praise for Pakistani products, especially sports and surgical goods, and cited various US-based TV channels that had gone out of their way to praise Pakistan-manufactured goods, especially footballs. He said items which were characteristic of Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage and were representative of the way of life in Pakistan, sold like hot cakes in the US.
The disadvantage our goods faced was that there was no projection.
He said there was no official body to see to the presentation or packaging of our products or help and guide the exporters in any way.
He offered the services of his US-based organisation to help Pakistani exporters boost their exports to the US.
When a reporter pointed out that there indeed was a government organisation to help exporters, namely, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), he said that the EPB did not exist any more and that it had been replaced by another department within the Ministry of Commerce and that it was of no practical use to the exporters.
As against that, he said that Indian products were having roaring sales and a major reason for that was that the Indian Ministry of Commerce was fully cooperating with the exporters. He said clay toys from India were very popular because they were presented in very fancy, unique designs and packaging.
As for Pakistan, he said Hala pottery and furniture had a massive market in the States. He cited six items of furniture which were so reflective of Pakistan’s heritage and said that all six of them sold within a matter of hours in the US. “Only if we had patronage from the Government of Pakistan,” he exclaimed. He recounted his recent trips to the Rawalpindi and Sialkot chambers of Commerce and Industry, and said that on his way from Sialkot to Lahore, he came across so many items at stores which would have a lucrative market in the US.
“However, none of our ambition to project ourselves in the overseas market can proceed till such time as we have governmental patronage,” he said.
Akhtar said the PCC, in tandem with the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had successfully held.
The Pakistan Show at Houston, Texas, USA, on August 21-24, 2015, displaying Pakistani products and were planning to hold a similar one in 2016. The show, he said, elicited a very encouraging response.