EU to provide market access to Pakistani products

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, May 24, 2009
By Jawwad Rizvi

LAHORE: French Commercial Counsellor in Pakistan, Dominique Simon, has said that the European Union is considering giving market access to Pakistani products. A meeting between the EU and Pakistan is scheduled to be held on June 17 in Brussels which would discuss market access for Pakistani products to the EU market.

“The meeting would be chaired by President Zardari because everybody is supporting Pakistan in what it is doing. Hence, in difficult times we should not only support Pakistan but also provide an easy access for Pakistani products to European Union markets,” disclosed Simon in an exclusive interview with The News.

In comparison to India, Pakistan’s economy is open for foreign investors. Pakistan is the second largest partner of France in the South Asian region and France always gives it preference.

Simon said that the richness of Pakistan’s economy is its young population which gives it a comparative advantage over others. Bilateral trade between Pakistan and France is in favour of Pakistan as France had exported $550 million worth of goods to Pakistan last year and imported goods worth $650 million. France is supporting Pakistan in balancing its trade, Simon said.

“France always wants to increase Pakistan’s exports rather than increasing its imports from France to help balance its current account.”

Talking about Pakistan’s cellular industry growth, he said the Pakistani market consists of a customer base of 92 million, whereas, the European market has a customer base of 45 million. Anyone in Pakistan can easily get their hands on a SIM card and Wimax connection as compared to Europe.

Talking about the current economic situation, Simon said the situation is difficult not only for Pakistan but also for the world as everyone was affected by the international economic meltdown. But Pakistan has developed a new middle class market in its last ten years of growth, while the middle class is still emerging. He said that this middle class consists of 20 per cent of the total market and of 30 million people which is more than that in any Scandinavian market.

Referring to his first meeting with Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Shaukat Tarin, he said he had asked Tarin to bring down the current account deficit at least under 4 per cent, as at that time France’s current account deficit was at 3.6 per cent. But now, due to the economic recession, the current account deficit of France has climbed to over 5 per cent.

Quoting the example of Hyper Star, a French hypermarket that has started its business in Pakistan, Simon said that the basic purpose of these markets is to provide an opportunity for Pakistani producers to increase their production level up to international standards. He mentioned that nine more hyper markets were being planned in Lahore. The second would be established in Karachi, the third again in Lahore, the forth in Faisalabad, and the fifth in Islamabad, he added.

Referring to easy business opportunities, he said the Hyper Market was trying to start business in India for the last ten years but the Indian legislation is too strict which is why they still haven’t been able to launch their operations in India. This is one of the main reasons why France considers Pakistan’s economy more open in this region, as compared to the others.

Responding to a query about the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Simon said France is a member of the European Union and being a member of the EU, it could not take any decisions individually. However, France has been focusing on providing an opportunity to Pakistan in the textile sector as it has not been producing textile goods and has instead been importing from China and Bangladesh.

Talking about French investments in Pakistan, Simon mentioned that 45 companies were settled in Pakistan while over 400 companies are working here. Quoting a leading French oil marketing company in Pakistan, he said that the company has planned to increase its stations to over 400 in the next two years and is also going to launch a lubrication blending plant in Karachi next month. The use of CNG in cars is also an environment friendly step by Pakistan, as almost half of its total cars are running on CNG, Simon remarked.

To a question regarding media role in the economic development and the mudslinging by western media on Pakistan, he said the western media is busy trying to break news the quickest and, hence, at the end of day, they are basically not doing much else.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=179164