Pakistani exporters UK - Trendinginsocial

Chairman UK-Pakistan Business Council (UPBC) Mian Kashif Ashfaq on Thursday urged the Pakistani exporters to fully explore the untapped markets of United Kingdom by exporting international standard branded products.

Talking to a Pakistani origin British investors and traders delegation led by Muhammad Arbab Khan who is also President British Friendship Council North, Mian Kashif said Pakistan is the second largest economy in South Asia after India and the UK is currently Pakistan’s third largest source of foreign direct investment after US and China.

He said the UK is also the third top export destination showing an increase of 19.79 percent to £ 1.14 b in six months of FY22 against £956.524m in the corresponding period of last year which showed upward surge.

He said about 5,000 UK companies were doing business in the UAE, but only 150 companies were in Pakistan even though Pakistan was a huge market of over 220 million people.

Mian Kashif Ashfaq sharing his views with visiting delegation said there was great potential for promoting bilateral trade between Pakistan and the UK for which better connectivity between private sectors of the two sides was needed.

He said Pakistan under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan was expanding its industrial base through the development of the Special Economic Zones and added that the UK companies should explore joint venture and investment avenues in such facilities.

He was of the view that the close cooperation between the UK and Pakistani companies would help in producing value-added products. Those Pakistani companies which were supplying A-grade products should be connected with British firms to enhance their exports, he said.

Mian Kashif Ashfaq who is also a former Chairman Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) cited agriculture, industry, IT, mining and tourism as potential areas of cooperation between Pakistan and the UK.

He said the UPBC would connect the British High Commission with P@SHA to shortlist at least 200 Pakistani companies which could provide software products and services to the UK. He added that UPBC would also try to connect local businesses with UK companies to bring their franchises to Pakistan.

He said many UK companies in Pakistan were doing better business as compared to some other countries and more should come to capitalise on the emerging business opportunities in the Pakistani market.

Muhammad Arbab Khan emphasized that Pakistan should focus on addressing the issues of red tape and other bottlenecks along with ensuring a predictable and growth-oriented tax regime to attract more investors from the UK and other countries. He said UK was focusing on four areas for close cooperation with Pakistan which included healthcare, education, green energy and infrastructure.

He said UK could also cooperate with Pakistan in agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and other sectors to make its economy more competitive. He added that the UK would try to provide preferential access to Pak products to its market, which would further improve its exports.

Talking about the export of fruits and vegetables Muhammad Arbab Khan said the Pakistani exporters should work on meeting the UK standards to gain better penetration into its food market.

He stressed that the Pakistani companies should focus on the better marketing of their products as an insufficient focus in that area was keeping them away from promoting exports up to their real potential.
He said the UK had issued advisories for its citizens to encourage them to visit Pakistan.