Realising that a number of factors inhibit foreign buyers to visit the country’s business centres, the government planned to ‘’storm markets abroad’’ with a powerful team of manufacturers of local textile and other exportable goods. These market “storming” trips was to take local manufacturers to top store chains in major cities of the USA and the Europe.

‘’You will see the launching of this drill in next 15 days,’’ Mr Tahir Ikram, the chief executive officer of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) informed a big gathering of exporters who had gathered to receive trophies, awards and medals from the caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro on December 15.

However earlier this week, all the four top exporters when approached by Dawn to know about the preparations for the proposed ‘’storming’’ said they were unaware of any such programme. One of them in Lahore said that he was busy in buying sacrificial animals, the other in Faisalabad was involved in election campaign. An exporter in Karachi who is normally in contact with the government on trade-related issues and had heard the TDAP chief executive’s speech on December 15 said, no follow-up contact was made with him. The fourth exporter, also from Karachi, is too was unaware of any such programme.

Mr Tahir Ikram’s announcement about a powerful team going abroad on a marketing mission was made in the wake of reports of over $7 billion trade imbalance between July--November 2007, with exports at $7.38 billion and the import bill at $14.58 billion. Exports grew by 7.13 while imports swelled by 18.27 per cent, raising fears that trade deficit at the end of this fiscal year may exceed $15 billion. But an official update on the economy issued by the finance ministry last month had expressed confidence about ‘’narrowing down of trade and current account deficits’’ during the F2007-08. The ministry expected an improvement in trade deficit and current account imbalance on the basis of the performance during first quarter-July to September 07--when it noted $304 million improvement in trade imbalance. The trade deficit during first three months of 2007-08 came down to $2.4 billion as against $2.70 billion in the same period of 06-07. The exports, during the first quarter, on fob basis grew by 5.8 per cent to $4.35 billion while imports declined by one per cent to $6.75 billion.

‘‘The narrowing down of trade deficit is the direct result of the improvement in exports on the one hand and a marginal decline in imports’’, the finance ministry noted while expressing its optimism.

But at the same time, there are reports of serious and increasing discrepancies in the official trade figures of the Federal Bureau of Statistics and those released by the State Bank of Pakistan. While some difference in figures of the two institutions is always there and is understandable, but a big difference of more than $2 billion in trade deficit of first four months raises doubts about the data credibility.. A team of senior officials is said to be engaged in addressing this issue but when will the officials inform public of their findings is not known.

Earlier at the start of 2007-08, the government projected an export growth of 10 per cent and increase in imports by nine per cent. Trade policy for 2007-08 projected exports at $19.2 billion and imports at $29.6 billion. Exports show a growth at 5.8 per cent while imports at over 17 per cent indicating that exports by the end of next June may be hardly between $18-18.50 billion and imports bill at about $35 billion.

Exporters fear that deficit in services will too go up beyond $6 billion in this fiscal year raising the total trade and services deficit to more than $20 billion. They doubt the effectiveness of market storming strategy and want an effective increase in supply position, the logistics and the infrastructure.

Akbar Sheikh, a former President of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association said from Lahore that unless the government takes adequate measures to improve supply chain of the goods, any market storming will be a useless exercise. ‘’We need 16 million good quality cotton bales whereas ‘hardly 13 million are available. Look at India where cotton production has gone up to 32 million bales, he added. .

Aziz Memon, a garment exporter wonders as to how manufacturers will be able to storm American and European markets ‘’with nothing in our hands’’. He wants the government to improve the entire supply line so that there are enough surpluses of exportable goods. Not only the manufacturers and exporters of textiles but those of other sectors-leather, carpet, surgical instruments etc-complain of hardships in their production activities which is hurting the exports.

‘’A billion dollars drop in the exports means pauperisation of one million families,” Humayun Akhtar Khan told the British trade minister a few months ago in London while pleading a case for access to market for Pakistan. At home, he acknowledged in last year’s trade policy speech of lack of surplus exportable goods and a taxation policy that encourages speculative trading rather than manufacturing.