LAHORE – Electronics manufacturers are working to export high-quality and long-lasting products to neighbouring countries, aiming to expand the business besides contributing to boosting the country’s dilapidating economy.
Pakistan Electronics Manufacturing Association (PEMA) President, Muhammad Farooq Naseem while talking to Daily Pakistan, said they invested a hefty amount of Rs30 billion in the last couple of years to enhance its capacity and managed to achieve over 50 per cent localisation.
Naseem, who is determined to make a mark in international markets as a home solutions provider, mentioned some hurdles that needed to be overcome, but he felt confident that this milestone would be achieved in near future.
The Gree and Ecostar CEO mentioned that with these investments, the South Asian country can now compete with Beijing in those components which we now produce locally. He pointed to refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, washing machines, water dispensers, small kitchen appliances and home theatre devices as the main products to export in light of their huge demand.
He mentioned Afghanistan and other Central Asian, East African, and Middle Eastern countries as their prime target, pointing the appliances giant can give these countries a chance to get their hands on one of the finest products at a competitive price.
Delving into details about the course of action, he said shifting the industrial base to the country’s financial capital Karachi is the need of the hour as transportation cost is a major issue.
We can send our products to Dubai for export purposes in two days whereas it takes almost two weeks to export our products to China, he added.
Citing figures, he estimated the size of the industry to be around Rs350 billion in Dec 2021, saying the industry is also contributing around Rs150 billion in the form of taxes.
The PEMA President also shared his views on the current crisis as cash strapped country relied on international lenders to survive amid skyrocketing inflation. He said this crisis impacted the industry as buying power of the masses plunged as compared to previous years.
Addressing the recent floods, he said it will further hamper the industry growth as the sale of home appliances will take a hit.
