NCC's facilitation to help improve export opportunities for SMEs: PRGMEA

The local exporters are presently not competitive globally.

LAHORE (Web Desk) - The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) on Thursday appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Commerce to launch first-ever National Compliance Centre (NCC) to facilitate the businesses, especially the exporters, saying the move will prove to be very effective for SMEs, helping them promote their business, besides improving export opportunities amidst slowdown in economic growth and sliding forex reserves.

PRGMEA Central Chairman Mubashar Naseer Butt observed that the local exporters are presently not competitive globally because of multiple reasons, including high energy cost, rising markup rate and the lack of implementation of the international standards.

Hailing the federal commerce minister Naveed Qamar and Commerce Secretary Sualeh Ahmad Faruqi to open the NCC, he said that it is a right step in the right direction, as it was one of the major demands of the exporters to provide them such facility under a one window solution with the sole objective of ensuring international compliance requirements and facilitate the exporters and certification agencies through information sharing and capacity building.

Mubashar Butt added that that several importing countries, under the guise of meeting specific regulatory, environmental, social, health, and quality compliances, impose these non-tariff barriers. He said that the Pakistan’s value-added textile exporters often faced such unforeseen requirements, especially when exporting to developed countries and countries forming various Economic Blocs and Free Trade Areas, adding to the cost for Pakistan’s local industry.

He said that it was an urgent need of constantly upgrading our production processes, making them 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 and the NCC will definitely to facilitate the industry in this regard.

He expressed the hope that the NCC will act as a supportive entity for all international compliance requirements and develop a user-friendly online database and other resources to assist to assist the industry and public as well as private sector stakeholders to understand and comply with international regulatory requirements, which is the need of the hour.

PRGMEA believes that the NCC would focus on those areas of compliance which industry presently needs, including quality assurance standards, sustainability, traceability for textiles, e-Commerce, competition, human rights and labor rights etc.

He demanded the consistency and strict implementation of the objectives of the NCC to hold regular outreach activities, including workshops and training, to build the capacity of stakeholders regarding compliance regimes. He said that that the NCC’s role of reviewing production processes and supporting the adoption of international best practices through trade policy measures will be vital, as in this ways it would also assist the associations and industry to adopt international best practices. It would be a good opportunity for the PRGMEA members that the NCC will assist small and medium-sized enterprises in developing business strategies for the adoption of international compliance requirements and facilitate access to international certifying bodies for them.

The PRGMEA Central Chairman observed that the value-added garment sector, which is also the major employment generator, welcomes this initiative, expressing the hope that it would remove the difficulties faced by SME sector in exporting their goods, playing an effective role in improving country’s rating in the Ease of Doing Business Index.

He said the role of export-oriented sector is vital in the country’s economic growth and the government has accorded top priority to this sector taking necessary steps and measures to enhance its export efficiency, including the development of the National Compliance Centre.