Smeda chief urged to set up value addition bureau

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has invited the attention of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Farhan Aziz Khawaja to the urgent need of setting up a value addition bureau in coordination with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to enhance exports of value-added items, a statement said on Tuesday.

Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver said that Smeda is fortunate to have an experienced CEO who has served as the managing director of the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) and knows the worth of value addition.

Khawaja has been entrusted with big responsibilities for promotion and development of the majority Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector at this crucial times when many SME units are on the verge of closure, especially those who are the vendors of the big industries of textiles, automobiles and those dependent on imported raw materials, equipment and parts, chemicals, plastics and several others, he added.

According to Thaver, this is the best time for import substitution industries and the government needs to pay heed, in fact, it should discuss the issue with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authorities and seek collaboration, transfer of technologies and partnership with China.

They need to renegotiate. Merely exporting raw materials is no big deal. Most of the importing countries are interested in raw materials, he said.

“We need to add value to our produce. In fact, we had suggested to establish a value addition bureau and are on record for having given them a list of items for value addition,” the Unisame president remarked.
“We are hopeful that Khawaja will impress upon the government to promote value addition earnestly,” he added.

The members of the Unisame Council also urged the new Smeda CEO to impress upon the policymakers to facilitate suppliers’ credit to enable the SME importers procure and import machinery, equipment and raw materials.

They also asked him to take the initiative and assured him of full cooperation for making it happen on a fast-track basis.