President Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges government to revive Pakistan Tractor Industry

Islamabad, January 02, 2014 (PPI-OT): Agriculture is the main source of economic growth in Pakistan. The Tractor Industry of Pakistan has always played a vital role in giving significant support to this sector by contributing directly in the economy and has proved to be a successful tool in achieving desired results over the past years.

The levy of un-warranted, unrealistic and anti mechanization exuberant rate of sales tax by the government will only lead this industry to complete havoc; This was stated by Mr. Shah Faisal Afridi, President Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI). He said this industry is producing 95% tractor parts locally, generating employment opportunities besides contributing significantly to the national exchequer in the shape of taxes etc.

He compared GST rate imposed on Indian tractor against Pakistan which remains at 5% since 2009-10 while in Pakistan the rate has increased as much as 10% compared with the same time period even expected to be 17% from Jan 1, 2014.

This anti- industry policy is not comprehended while we are facing daunting economic challenges and worsened GDP growth rate. He remarked that out of box solutions are required rather than revolutionary steps on war footings which will enable us to combat the ongoing economic crisis.

The need of time is to make this industry even more technologically advanced by engineering innovations such as introduction of Euro 2 standard, better fuel economy etc. so that it become at par with international standards and help farmers save cost and increase productivity but it seem that the government is not interested, he further added. Our farmer is still far behind in terms of per hectare crop yield which is 4.7 tons in China, 7.7 tons in the UK, 2.8 tons in India and only 2.6 tons in Pakistan, lowest in the region. If we compare, the available farm power (HP) per hectare in China is 3.38, in Japan it is 7 and even in our next door neighbor India it is 2.5 while in Pakistan it is only 0.9. This is primarily due to low mechanization vis-a-vis other factors.

Agreeing on the view point by Chairman PAAPAM and LCCI on this issue, he further added that we do require 800,000 tractors to match per hectare HP of India and ensure food security for the nation.

He urged the government to make tractor affordable for the Pakistani farmers for increased productivity and rural employment, significant rise in the national kitty, solid agri. mechanization policy to facilitate import substitution through realistic deletion programme, foreign exchange saving and hence contributing towards a prosperous Pakistan.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI)
Mega Tower, 309 – 6th Floor,
Main Boulevard, Gulberg II,
Lahore, Punjab – Pakistan.
Tel: +92 42 35777460- 02, 37032203 – 35874353
Fax: +92 42 35777524
Email: info@pcjcci.org