SIALKOT: Exports from Sialkot increased 11.04 percent to Rs 687.22 million in 2002 when compared to exports the previous year.Value-added products like musical instruments, badges, sports goods, surgical instruments, martial arts uniforms and, cutlery have brought Sialkot a name the world over. The industrial set-up in Sialkot is based on small and medium enterprises that are dotted all around the city. SMEs are believed to be the driving force behind the growth in exports from Sialkot. During 2002, sports goods worth Rs 11.039 billion were exported, 16.91 percent higher than the previous year. Similarly, there was a 14.22 percent increase in the export of surgical instruments and during 2002 these value-added products earned Rs 7.233 billion.
Mostly European countries form the market for the surgical instruments made in Sialkot, which are later re-exported under European brand names. Generations of local artisans and labourers have passed down the skills for crafting footballs, field hockey sticks and cricket gear that are used in international games including the world cups and Olympic games.Researchers from various foreign universities have been considering conducting research on the “export culture” of Sialkot, which is a hub of cottage industries. As part of their research they would ascertain how and why small businesses in Sialkot have become successful exporters. Sialkot’s strong production base has lead to the completion of the country’s second Export Processing Zone with complete infrastructure.
The availability of special incentives, expert and cheap labour and complete infrastructure facilities in the zone has enticed foreign investors to establish joint ventures with local industrialists.The Sialkot Export Processing Zone (SEPZ) will usher in a new era of industrial revolution. It has been developed on 238 acres of land and consists of 900 plots of four different categories. It is expected that 22 different industrial units would be accomplished in the near future at the SEPZ.The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) is taking keen interest in motivating overseas Pakistanis and foreigners in investing in the zone. In 1985, a dry port was established in the private sector at Sambrial about 15 km from Sialkot for the speedy clearance of export and import consignments. The Sialkot dry port is successfully functioning and is located in the centre of the triangle of Sialkot, Gujranwala and Wazirabad and caters to the needs of the entire Gujranwala division. Recently, the Sialkot dry port started up a new container service for Peshawar for the speedy transportation of exportable cargo.
Exportable consignments are being transported from Sialkot to the Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar airports, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and, Port Qasim seaport.The soccer ball industry at Sialkot was alleged to have been involved in the use of child labour for the stitching of balls. However, the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) through the corporate sector signed an agreement at Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, with ILO-IPEC and UNICEF in February 1997 to completely purge the industry from child labour through the progressive implementation of a Sialkot project with special emphasis on social protection to children and their families. Manufacturers were invited to join the programme on a voluntary basis. Former US president, Bill Clinton, while addressing the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention at Geneva, specifically quoted the Sialkot project as a model of success. A Cleaner Production Centre (CPC) has been established at Sialkot with the co-funding of the Export Promotion Bureau, the government of Norway, and the management of Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association to help the leather sector overcome environmental problems.The Norwegian government had provided NOK 12.5 million as a grant while the federal government had provided Rs 23.3 million for the completion of the CPC at Sialkot.
This programme is aimed at combating intensive pollution threats caused by tanneries functioning in and close to Sialkot. It has produced results in minimizing the pollution load in the area. The major objectives of the CPC are to reduce pollution at the source, conserve natural resources and environment and introduce cleaner production strategies in the leather industry. The Sialkot leather industry has more than 500 leather and leather-product manufacturing units working at present.In order to ensure social compliance essentially demanded by foreign buyers under the WTO, studies on child labour and gender issues have been undertaken in the leather industry. In addition to this, a chrome recovery plant was established at the cost of Rs 13 million on the Sialkot-Sambrial road.
The step has been taken to reduce the pollution load from tanneries. SME Bank Limited has formulated a line of action for providing necessary financial and technical assistance for boosting the local surgical industry. The Bank would provide financial support to SMEs engaged in the surgical instrument industry for the purchase of machinery for upgrading their units. The SME Bank would provide technical assistance and support in area management, product innovation and development, quality control, acquisition of new technology, product positioning and marketing and the development of bankable business proposals.