Usman Ashraf, Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) has said that it is inevitable to establish special pavilions to promote Pakistani products abroad.
“Pakistan should organize single country exhibitions by itself to access the markets of different countries,” he expressed these views while addressing the weekly review meeting in the office of the association. Senior Central Leader Abdul Latif Malik, Chairperson Carpet Training Institute (CTI) Ejazur Rahman, Senior Member Parvez Hanif, Riyaz Ahmed, Saeed Khan, Major (Rtd) Akhtar Nazir, Shahid Hasan, Umair Usman, and others were also present in the meeting.
He said that exporters also face other challenges, including fluctuations in the value of the dollar, which must be addressed on a priority basis. He said that Pakistan has a unique recognition among the few countries that manufacture handmade carpet products, but due to the lack of government patronage, we are losing our share in the global markets, which needs serious attention. “This is an industry which is not a burden on the government but the government can stop urbanization by sponsoring this industry,” he added.
He said that export sectors should be divided into categories with regard to the problems faced and priority should be given to the sector which has more problems.
He said that the manufacturers and exporters who have been working for many decades have an emotional attachment to it despite the unfavorable conditions and are trying to compete with other countries including traditional competitors despite less resources. He said to get our share in the global market we have to formulate an effective strategy for marketing and promotion of our products which is not possible without government support.
He said that the government should immediately solve the problems like unnecessary delays in issuing refunds and credit financing.
PCMEA demands single country exhibition to promote exports
