Renowned economists doubted the time of the PM’s visit to Russia, signaling a wrong gesture to the West. But Abdul Razak Dawood refuted all rumors of analysts. “Whenever such a situation develops and creates trade-related problems, you need to understand how we can benefit. But I don’t think this situation will affect our exports (to Europe and the US). Mr. Dawood said. The PM adviser commented on the PM visit at the first edition of a three-day engineering and healthcare show.
The journalist asked the Adviser about the trade relationship with Russia. The Pak export with Russia touched $1 billion. The most important thing is opening the gates with Russia after two decades of cold relations. The Russian trade minister will visit Pakistan next week.
On the question of trade with India, the Adviser said that Pakistan should collaborate with India benefitting both countries. Pakistan should open doors to African and central Asian countries to increase exports. Leading economist Dr. Sajid Amin Javed from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute said the PM’s visit sent wrong signals to the West due to Ukraine-Russia tension. The IMF may come with tighter monetary policies due to the negative impact of the visit. The IMF came with strict policies after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan is importing wheat from Ukraine on a mass scale. An increase in oil prices in the market will increase the import bill adding more to the current account deficit.
Eminent economist Dr. Hafeez Pasha has also explained his views regarding the Prime Minister’s visit. He said that the Premier visit would not affect the country’s exports as the visit had already been planned before the Ukraine crisis. He further said that Pakistan had already shown its neutrality in the current crisis. Pakistan will not join any bloc in the new cold war facing the severe consequences of becoming part of the previous cold war. Pakistan is importing wheat from Ukraine, Russia, and Australia despite being an agricultural country. The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) officially deals with the import of wheat from Ukraine.
The TCP and private sector had been importing wheat from Ukraine in bulk and Russian wheat to bridge the demand-and-supply gap.
Cereal Association of Pakistan Chairman Muzammil Chappal said the government had allowed the private sector to import a million tonnes of wheat in August 2021. Still, the trade could not materialize due to high prices and a lack of government subsidies.
Ruling out any further import after a massive jump in wheat price to $400 per tonne from $315 ahead of the Russian conflict, Mr. Chappal feared wheat and flour crises in anticipation of a 20-25 percent drop in the country’s wheat crop arriving in March/April.
Source:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1677110/russia-tour-not-to-affect-us-europe-exports-razak-dawood
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