The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has appreciated the initiatives announced in the federal budget for promotion of agriculture and IT sectors.
Sharing the Forum’s viewpoint on federal budget with media here Sunday, PBF Secretary Information and Spokesperson Zainab Jatoi said the economy was already under pressure due to last year’s floods and the war between Ukraine and Russia. However, the government had taken a lot of measures in the budget which would help the IT, SME, and agriculture sectors grow. In this financial plan, she mentioned that farming sector had been allotted Rs 5 billion for arrangement of sponsored advances to the agri business, while Rs 6 billion earmarked for the concession on imported urea, adding that charges and obligations on import of value seeds had been annulled. The PBF was appreciative of these efforts.
The rural economy has the potential to be transformed by the agro industry. The SMEs are critical to any industry. In this financial plan, the coalition government has carried out a super duty on pay above Rs 150 million. This action is in direct contravention of this promise. The government has expanded the expense pace of 0.5 percent on business shippers. The PBF had proposed that a comparable duty design should be in place to saved business shippers and to discourage under-invoicing.
Zainab Jatoi said that the conversion of 50,000 agriculture tube-wells on solar energy would not only reduce the input cost for the farmers but also help reducing demand of electricity and imported diesel. She said that exemption from duties and taxes on combined harvesters; rice planters, seeders and dryers; and import of certified seeds and saplings and five-year tax exemption to agriculture based industries of rural areas would help increasing output and reducing the post harvest losses, but we had also expected to announce the relief in fertiliser prices especially in DAP and Potash.
PM’s Youth business and agriculture loan scheme, discounted credit facility for small farmers, and increase in agriculture credit target to Rs 2250 billion were some other measures aimed at provision of capital to agriculture sector, she said, adding that government should consider reduction in KIBOR rates to ensure benefits of credit schemes.
Ms. Jatoi also lauded establishment of Export Council and said it was a long standing demand of business community that was met in the budget 2023-24. She was of the view that US$30 billion export target for new financial year should be revised to US $40 billion while considering the devaluation of rupee and potential of export oriented industry of the country.
She said that measures like granting SME status to IT sector and tax exemption to youth entrepreneurs would encourage the youth and promote IT and entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
PBF Spokesperson also stated the decision of raising minimum wages of workers to Rs 32000 would help providing relief to lower income strata of the society.
She stressed the need of initiatives for revival of industry, business confidence and imports particularly raw materials for local industry to assist the important sectors of economy in dealing with their problems.
