47. Pakistan Economic Survey 2011-12 - Consultancy Services in ...

Manufacturing and Miningyear. However, negative growth was observed inthe working capacity of both spindles and loomsduring the current fiscal year. Table 3.10 shows theinstalled and working capacity of the industryduring the period under review.Table 3.10: The installed and working capacity ofjute industry(July – Mar)2010-11(July – Mar)2011-12%ChangeSpindlesInstalled36076 36076 0%SpindlesWorked27697 24279 -12%LoomsInstalled1851 1852 0.1%LoomsWorked1129 1047 -7%Source: Ministry of TextileThe production of jute goods for the period of July– Mar. 2010-11 and 2011-12 was 92,666 M. tonand 98,753 M. ton respectively, showing anincrease of 6.6 percent.3.3 Other IndustriesAlthough Pakistan’s exports are mostlyconfined to cotton and textile products in theinternational market, there are other industriesas well which progressed rapidly and alsocontributed to the manufacturing sector.3.3-1 Engineering SectorThe engineering industry in Pakistan has enjoyedsome success as a result of some really hard work.The increasing competition that the internationalmarket presents has been challenging. EngineeringDevelopment Board (EDB) is the apex governmentbody entrusted with strengthening the engineeringbase of Pakistan. Its main objective is to maintaininternational standard in the field of engineeringgoods and services. The EDB has taken initiativesto boost the production of the surgical industry andelectric fan Industry.The current capacity in the surgical sector is underutilized. During 2011-12 (July-March), exports ofsurgical goods and medical instruments reachedUS$ 221 million compared to US$ 186.7 millionduring the same period last year. The EDB isplanning to prepare a growth strategy with activeparticipation of all stakeholders in order to touchthe export target of US$ 500 million by 2015.The electric fan industry is mainly clustered inGujrat and comprises of more than 2,000 small andmedium enterprises. The industry is not onlyfulfilling local demand for domestic fans ofvarious categories but is also earning handsomeforeign exchange besides providing ampleemployment opportunities. A number of measureshave been taken during 2011-12 and are currentlyunderway to facilitate the industry to producedomestic fans at par with internationally acceptedstandards. The Fan Development Institute (FDI) isalso being updated with the cooperation of thePakistan Council for Science and IndustrialResearch (PCSIR).In addition to projecting the engineering image ofPakistan, the EDB has initiated the compilation ofthe Engineering Goods and Services exportersDirectory of Pakistan 2012. The directory shallhave the complete profile of the Exporters andshall be circulated to Pakistan’s Foreign Missions,Foreign Chambers of Commerce and the EDB’sInternational support partners in the potentialmarkets.3.3-2 Automobile IndustryThe four sectors of the automobile industry haveshown mixed trends of growth during the yearJuly-March 2011-12. The industry seems to be lessbuoyant in comparison with the correspondingperiod of last year 2010-11. Buses, cars, LCVs andtwo/three wheelers managed to grow by 23percent, 9.1 percent, 5.7 percent and 3.1 percentrespectively compared to 24.7 percent, 16.4percent, 20.5 percent and 12.6 percent respectivelyduring the same period last year. A larger declinewas witnessed in tractor production which wasrecorded at 48 percent compared to negativegrowth of 2.2 percent.During the start of the current fiscal year,production of tractors declined substantially byalmost 70 percent after the imposition of the 16percent general sale tax (GST) in April 2011.Following the government’s announcement to cutGST from 16 percent to 5 percent production45