Huge potential for marble products export: Trade missions can fetch billions of dolla

[Salman]

Huge potential for marble products export: Trade missions can fetch billions of dollars export order

KARACHI: Pakistan can fetch export orders worth billions of dollars for marble’s finished and semi-finished products if the trade commissioners in Pakistan missions in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and especially Iraq are asked to explore new markets for Pakistani marble products.

There is a dire need to explore construction sectors in Iraq and Arab States as billions of dollars construction projects with more than $9,000 million marble products are needed, BMG All Pakistan Marble Mining Processing Industry and Exporters Association Chairman Sanaullah Khan said on Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund expects Iraq’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 12.6 percent in 2012.

The trade commissioners in Pakistan missions in these estates should expedite their plans for opening fresh avenues in order to tap new contracts, he added.

It is believed that this is a sharp contrast to many other Middle Eastern and North African countries showing Iraq’s potential in construction and infrastructure building, Khan maintained.

In respect to speed up the developments and enhance commercial opportunities, MEED presented the Iraq Infrastructure Projects 2011 in the conference on December 5-8, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The marble and natural stone exports quantum would touch above $76 million in 2011.

He said the quantum of marble exports has touched more than $100 million in 2011 as compared to $60 million during the same period last year.

“If the load shedding situation persists it will be difficult for the sector to meet $100 million export target in 2012,” he added.

He said investors from Italy and European countries including UK, Saudi Arabia, Korea and China were still showing great interest and wanted to start joint ventures with the Pakistani counterparts. According to the World Bank studies, Balochistan has the weakest long-term growth performance of all provinces in Pakistan.

This is despite the fact that Balochistan has more than half of the national prospective geology for minerals, yet it contributes just over one-fifth to the national mining GDP and leads only in the production of coals.

Around 200 marble products manufacturing units in the largest marble industrial cluster of the country in Karachi are running at half their capacity, thus incurring a production loss of over Rs 27 million a day.

He said around 200 quarries remained closed for more than two years in the Balochistan province owing to feud among different clans.

He said Balochistan Mineral Department was also facing a net loss of Rs 600,000 per day in the form of not getting quarry lease fee.

He said mining and quarry sector contributes nearly 0.6 percent to Pakistan’s GDP with an estimated value addition of more than Rs 16.5 billion.

Federal Ministry for Production said the government was committed to develop the marble and granite sector as dimensional stone industry of the country.

Emaar Middle East-Jeddah City Development (near old airport) Jeddah Gate, Saudi Arabia is a $1,600 million project.

Besides Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) Education City: Car Park, Qatar project is estimated at $230 million besides many other projects which have been planned in Arab States.

Qatar Petroleum is planning to construct a car park with four levels above the ground to be located in the Education City, which will be a 14-square-kilometre development on the western edge of Doha.