Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and Regional Chairman Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi said on Friday that the packaging sector is the backbone of all industries and that the government should grant it industry status in order to derive maximum benefit from it.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News – September 16, 2022): Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and Regional Chairman Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi said on Friday that the sector Packaging is the backbone of all industries and the government should grant it industry status in order to derive maximum benefit from it.
Elaborating, they said that the widespread popularity of online businesses and e-commerce has increased the importance and value of the packaging sector.
FPCCI Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that the packaging industry is one of the leading and creative sectors in Pakistan as it forms the main backbone to meet the demands of the national industry and export oriented. The packaging industry is Pakistan’s 5th largest industry after textiles and the second largest industry in South Asia. All packaging materials and products such as paper, cardboard, packaging film, adhesive tape, plastic, glass, metal and wood are made in Pakistan, he added.
The past few years has seen an increase in terms of innovations and environmentally friendly production. New technologies are being used to process key materials to enable the use of packaging based on the physical and chemical properties of the product, the FCCI chairman said.
Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi said that unfortunately he was not given industry status. The government is being asked to give the packaging sector “industry” status. After industry status, many businessmen in this sector would enter the tax net, increasing government revenue.
He said the packaging industry is mostly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The SME sector is the backbone of the economy and it has contributed immensely to the growth of industries and the creation of employment opportunities.
The SME sector “only needs exposure to export its products and once it is achieved, Pakistan’s trade balance will improve”, he added.
