Ahsan reveals SMEs’ potential of $40-60bn export in next five years

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have the potential of $40-60 billion export in the next three to five years.

Addressing a roundtable consultation on “Export-led Economy – Race to $100 billion”, on Tuesday, along with Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, he said the government would facilitate SME sector to achieve that potential target.

“The government is committed to significantly increasing exports, setting an ambitious target of $100 billion within eight years. There is a need to enhance production and leverage key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and information technology, mining, manpower and creative industries to drive growth,” he said.

In order to increase the exports, he said the government would collaborate with the relevant department/ministries to develop a dashboard, outlining a clear road-map for growth in those sectors.

The minister suggested working on policies and incentives to encourage the private sector to contribute to the country’s exports.

Minister Jam Kamal said Pakistan’s export decline was due to various factors, including high interest rates, production costs, Covid-19, and the Ukraine conflict.

However, the minister highlighted that the government had formulated a strategy to increase the country’s exports to $60 billion.

“Investors’ confidence has restored after International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. In the past, the focus was on textiles, now the focus is on pharmaceutical exports,” he said.

The minister said Pakistan’s economic future depended on a significant increase in exports. He said Pakistan’s textile and manufacturing sector exports had increased by 13.8 per cent and 15.9 per cent while agriculture exports increased by 54.8 per cent to reach $7.95 billion in 2024. “Export Development Fund is being used effectively to increase export capacity,” he added.

The minister also highlighted that the role of the private sector in achieving export target was extremely important and Pakistan was capable of more than $100 billion, but definitely there was need of a robust strategy.