Pakistan’s Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), on Thursday, praised the Ministry of Commerce’s efforts to launch the National Compliance Centre (NCC) to facilitate businesses and exporters, saying the move will be particularly effective for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help promote their businesses, and improve export opportunities amidst an economic slowdown and sliding forex reserves.
PRGMEA Central Chairman, Mubashar Naseer Butt explained that the local exporters are currently not competitive globally due to high energy costs, rising markup rates, and the lack of implementation of international standards. He commended Federal Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar and Commerce Secretary Sualeh Ahmad Faruqi for launching the NCC, stating that it is a major demand of exporters to provide them with a one-window solution to ensure international compliance requirements and facilitate exporters and certification agencies through information sharing and capacity building.
Butt emphasised that many importing countries impose non-tariff barriers under the guise of regulatory, environmental, social, health, and quality compliances, which adds to the cost for Pakistan’s local industry. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly upgrade production processes to be climate-friendly, sustainable, and more inclusive, especially in terms of sharing benefits from international trade agreements and market access concessions with those involved in the supply chain at all levels. The NCC will act as a supportive entity for all international compliance requirements, he said, adding that it would develop a user-friendly online database and resources to assist the industry and public and private sector stakeholders to understand and comply with international regulatory requirements. PRGMEA believes that the NCC will focus on compliance areas that the industry needsand that it would hold regular outreach activities.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2023.
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