Pakistan to get extension in GSP Plus facility: Razak Dawood

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Razak Dawood, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Textiles, has said that diversification in exports that wasn’t registered in the past, has started taking place in the country.

While talking to The News in an exclusive talk, the adviser said that in the last three years, the exports of non-traditional products to the traditional markets have hiked by 60 percent to $2.022 billion, while the exports of non-traditional items to the non-traditional markets have jacked up by 77 percent to $713 million. He said that the government has geared up its endeavours to further consolidate the diversification in the exports.

“Overall, the exports are on track to attain the target of $38.7 billion set for 2021-22. Of $38.7 billion, the goods export target stands at $31.2 billion and service exports target at $7.5 billion, but there are chances that the exports may surpass the target of $38.7 billion by June 30, 2022 and touch the figure of $40 billion,” he said, adding that there has been so far 27 percent growth in the exports in the last five months of the current fiscal to $12.365 billion if compared with the last year’s exports of $9.7 billion in the same corresponding period.

He said that the increasing imports have posed a threat to the trade deficit and to this effect the government is in the process of identifying the items, of which the tariffs will be increased to discourage the imports. When his attention was drawn towards the fate of GSP Plus as the EU has expressed reservation about the human rights situation, particularly the rights of the minorities and disappearances and killings of media persons and more importantly the situation emerging out of brutal murder of Sri Lankan in Sialkot, he said: “Yes, the Sialkot incident has emerged as a challenge for me when it comes to the GSP Plus facility and I still feel that the GSP Plus issue will remain in our management ability.”

He went on to say that his ministry has done a fair amount of work to fight the case of the GSP Plus facility. He hoped that Pakistan will be able to get the extension in the GSP Plus facility from the European Union. To a question, he said that Pakistan’s exports to the EU stood at $7.477 billion and exports under the GSP Plus stood at $4.167 billion.

He said that in the last five months, the imports have risen to $32.8 billion, out of which the import of raw materials has gone up to $9.8 billion, energy products $9.496 billion, capital goods $5.172 billion, food $4.109 billion, and consumers good $2.069 billion. He said that the import of vaccines for the Covid-19 has increased to $1.589 billion. He said there are only food and consumer goods areas, where the government can increase tariffs on items to discourage imports.

To a question, he said that if the situation of trade deficit worsened in the remaining period till June 30, 2022, he would use the option to ban the import of some items and would also intimate the WTO management to this effect.

Dispelling the impression created by the Planning Commission that exports have increased in terms of value not in terms of quantity, Dawood said that later on, the same Planning Commission came up with revised estimates, saying that the exports have increased 40 percent in terms of quantity and 60 percent in terms of value.

Mentioning the top performing exports products while comparing the data of month of November 2021 with the exports data in the same month of the last year 2020, he said the cement sector exports grew by 207 percent in terms of quantity and 193 percent with regard to value terms. Home textiles in November 2021 jacked up by 17 percent in terms of quantity and 34 percent in terms of value if compared with the exports data registered in November 2020, he added. He said men’s garments registered growth of 19 percent in terms of quantity and 33 percent in terms of value, while cotton fabric exports went up by nine percent quantity-wise and 39 percent in value wise. The adviser said that the exports of cotton yarn dipped by three percent in terms of quantity and increased by 48 percent in terms of value. He said that this is a good omen that the cotton yarn export in terms of quantity got reduced, showing the indication that the cotton yarn is being used for the value-added products in the country. He said ethyl alcohol’s export also surged by 142 percent quantity-wise and 123 percent value-wise. He said that the made-up articles of textile material exports grew by two percent in quantity and 35 percent in value and T-shirts exports went up by 41 percent in quantity and 51 percent in value. Fruits and vegetables’ exports increased by 59 percent in quantity and 127 percent in value, he added. He said jersey and cardigans exports went up 43 percent in quantity and 68 percent in value, while the leather apparel exports registered a growth of 24 percent both in quantity and value.

He also shared the data of top declining exports products, saying that the exports of plastic articles went down by 23.55 percent in quantity and 34 percent in value. He said that medical and surgical instruments went up by 13 percent in quantity and went down by five percent in value.

He said the meat exports tumbled by 27 percent in terms of quantity and seven percent in value terms. Likewise, exports of tobacco and cigarettes went down by 20 percent and nine percent in value, while the exports of live poultry also decreased by 85 percent in quantity and 78 percent in value, he added. He said the exports of made-up clothing accessories, woods and articles, natural honey, garment made up of felt or nonwovens, textiles fabrics, milk and cream also went down both in quantity and value.