Pakistan has introduced a package for the textile sector. Textile exporters have to get themselves registered in order to be eligible for incentives. The registration system has been streamlined and payments will be made as soon as applicants deposit all required documents.

Meanwhile a textile spinning and stitching institute is under consideration. Pakistan is targeting exports worth $35 billion by 2018. The top five textile sectors have been given a zero-rated sales tax regime. Sales tax and customs duty on imports of textile machinery and cotton have been abolished. A number of projects of power generation through hydel, coal, solar, wind, and other resources have been initiated.

About 10,000 megawatts electricity will be added to the system by 2018 and 30,000 megawatts within the next few years. A network of roads, highways and motorways is being laid to integrate different regions of the country. Engineers and managers at industrial units will be trained to adopt new technologies to manage complex production processes in developing products demanded internationally. Emphasis will be placed on skill development.

New export destinations including Mexico, Central Asia, Africa and Doha are being looked at. About 60 per cent of Pakistan’s exports go to ten countries, namely, USA, China, UAE, Afghanistan, UK, Germany, France, Bangladesh, Italy and Spain. Right now Pakistan’s exports to South America, Africa, Central Asian Republics and Russia are less than ten per cent of the total exports of Pakistan.