If we continue to incentivise imports, we will lose what little manufacturing we have left in the country.
ANHUI, CHINA: This is in reference to the news story “ECC meeting: Locally assembled cars are costly, based on old technology” (October 9). First of all, importing cars will not help the country’s manufacturing base whatsoever. Additionally, the sales volume in Pakistan is too low for companies to be profitable producing such investment-heavy products. While government incentives are helpful, they are never enough to offset investment.
If we continue to incentivise imports, we will lose what little manufacturing we have left in the country. We should have policies that encourage the local industry; that is what creates jobs. Imports of used products will further erode incentives for these companies to invest in newer technologies, models, etc. Preferring imports to locally manufacture is a very short-sighted strategy.
Taimur Shah
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2013.
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