Cutlery industry unable to meet export targets due to labour shortage

LAHORE: Cutlery sector of Wazirabad is unable to meet the millions of dollar exports orders due to shortage of skilled labour and other production related issues.

This was disclosed by a delegation of Pakistan Cutlery and Stainless Utensils Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCSUMEA) during a meeting with Minister for Industry, Commerce and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal here at Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.

The delegation was headed by senior vice-chairman of association Mirza Amir Ullah along with Vice-Chairman M Azeem, former Chairman Hamza Shakeel Bhutto, Chairman Board of Management Small Industrial Estate Wazirabad M Khalid Mughal and other members of the sector. Deputy Secretary Commerce Yasir Rehman and concerned officers were also present in the meeting.

The delegation stressed the need of the government support for meeting export targets by improving production capacity. The issues related to cutlery industry, development of Small Industrial Estate Wazirabad and provision of easy loans for promotion of small scale industries were also discussed.

“Each of our industrial units has export orders ranging from one million to two million dollars but there are labour shortages and other production problems due to which we are unable to meet the orders”, Mirza Amir Ullah said.

Aslam Iqbal said that the national economy can be strengthened by improving exports capacity. The government is implementing the policy of decreasing imports and encouraging exports, he said.

‘The cutlery industry’s problems will be solved on priority basis and I will review development work in all the four small industrial estates during my Gujranwala visit next week’, he added.

Meanwhile, soft loans up to Rs 10 million were being given under Punjab Rozgar Scheme and the government has restored the confidence of the local industrialists besides encouraging foreign investors. This has resulted in huge investment opportunities in the province, Aslam Iqbal added. He said the government was pursuing a policy of increasing exports. ‘Billions of rupees have been invested in the province due to government initiatives’.