Engineering sector: Five-year export policy sought

ISLAMABAD: The government should introduce a five-year export policy for the engineering sector by offering incentives to increase non-traditional exports, said Dawlance CEO Umar Ahsan Khan.

Currently, Pakistan’s exports are focused on traditional sectors like textile and surgical goods. Talking to the media on Thursday, Khan said the policy may help in boosting exports of engineering goods, which had a potential of $10-12 billion.

He urged the government to offer a friendly tax environment to the investors willing to invest in Pakistan. “In our sector, corporate tax is 29% whereas total tax is more than 40% in Pakistan,” he said, adding that such taxes made exports uncompetitive in the region when compared with prices of products sold by Thailand, India and Bangladesh.

He said investors always examined the tax environment whenever they planned to invest in any country.

Around 20 years ago, Turkey’s exports were equal to the volume of Pakistan’s exports but the country worked on improving the quality of products. Today, Turkey’s exports were around four times higher than Pakistan, the official pointed out. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2020.

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