Value addition necessary to boost trade

Little impact on exports expected until it the products being exported are upgraded

LAHORE: Pakistan’s chronic trade deficit is the result of its dependence on low value-added agricultural and manufacturing export goods, and there is an urgent need to focus on boosting the country’s exports through focus on specific inputs that are highly correlated with growth in international.

Even though Pakistan has signed many bilateral agreements in an attempt to grow its export market, there will be very little impact on exports until it upgrades the products being exported and moves up the value chain by exporting higher value products, said a research conducted by Lahore School of Economics. The researchers conducted a cross-country comparison of countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey and Bangladesh and came up with ways for the government to reduce certain tariff.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2018.

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