The Sports Goods Sector in Pakistan - TRTA i

1 Background and objectives1.1 EC TRTA Programme for PakistanThe International Trade Centre (ITC) is implementing, on behalf of the European Union (EU),a Trade-related Technical Assistance (TRTA) programme in Pakistan. The overall objective ofthe programme is to assist Pakistan to foster its integration into the world economy and,ultimately, to contribute to poverty alleviation through the achievement of trade-relatedconditions for sustained and stable economic growth.More specifically, the programme aims to enhance awareness among government officials, thebusiness sector and civil society about the implications of the World Trade Organization(WTO) Agreements on the economy of the country, and to assist Pakistan in building thenecessary capacity to address issues resulting from its participation in the WTO.1.2 Five sector studiesWithin this framework, the programme has undertaken five studies on sectors selected by theMinistry of Commerce in Pakistan: automotive parts, footwear, furniture, pharmaceuticals andsports goods.The studies have been undertaken by national consultants working in collaboration with therespective business associations, national and international experts and ITC.The studies identify export opportunities and threats in each sector and examine theimplications of the WTO Agreements on these sectors. Specifically they include:• An overview of the sector and its relevance to Pakistan, including production processes,pricing and turnover performance, regulatory environment and export performance.• A summary of other studies, reports, policy papers, strategies, etc developed in recentyears for the sector.• An overview of the sector’s trading performance for key products, including the sector’sglobal trade position, national sector data, imports and exports over the last 5 years, andthe global position of key Pakistani companies.• Identification of the WTO Agreements relevant to the sector and analysis of theirimplications for the sector globally and in Pakistan, both currently and in the future. Thisincludes analysis of changed or new market threats or opportunities arising out of theemerging multilateral trading environment.• An assessment of the availability and accessibility of relevant information on WTO,including the information flows between the Government and the business community.• Identification of the key obstacles or shortcomings for improving the sector’s exportperformance and provision of proposals for improvement or rectification.• An assessment of the current export support services provided by the Government andsuggestions on how these could improve the export performance in the relevant sector.International Trade Centre 5