KARACHI: The domestic motorcycle industry has registered a remarkable recovery during the four months ending July 2011, industry executives told The News on Monday.
“The motorcycle industry has started taking its roots in the international markets and exported around 10,500 units to different countries during April-July,” Sabir Shaikh, chairman, Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers said.
The exports have picked up to $1.34 million after a 135 percent drop in 2010/11, Shaikh said. The quality and price of locally-produced bikes have effectively checked imports, he said.
Last year, exports experienced a steep decline after a major policy shift by the government when the Research & Development (R&D) facility was withdrawn from the motorcycle industry, he said.
Motorcycle exports stood at $786,310 in the year 2008/09 and surged to $3.5 million in the next year on the back of $50 per unit Research and Development facility. Exports fell by 135 percent after the withdrawal of this facility, said the APMA Chairman.
Fahad Iqbal, Chief Executive HKF Engineering the makers of Ravi motorcycles, said the decline in exports would have been much higher, but the prudent marketing strategy keep it under control.
“Exports of motorcycles averaged over 2,500 units during the last four months, which is a good sign for the industry. This, he added, is double the monthly export of 1,200 units in 2009/10 when record exports were witnessed. He said that the trend is expected to continue and Pakistan will easily be able to double its motorcycle exports this year,” he said.
The progress this sector has made over the last ten years is a proof that Pakistani entrepreneurs can compete with the best in the world if consistent policies are in place, he said, adding the industry provides a viable option as the next emerging export after textiles from Pakistan.
“We are aiming to export half a million units annually by the year 2016, but for this we want consistency of policy ,” Fahad claimed.
Growth in this sector means that part making industries like steel, rubber, electronics, and plastics, also get a boost, he added. The industry creates downstream avenues like motorcycle dealerships for new and old bikes, repair, and maintenance workshops and spare-parts businesses.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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