Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) & All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Chairman National Business Group Pakistan (NBG), Chairman FPCCI Policy Advisory Board and Former Provincial Minister of Information Technology, has welcomed the Prime Minister’s directions to the Federal Board of Investment to simplify, digitalise and bring transparency to the regulatory system governing the Dairy and Beverages sector. He said that similar reforms should also be extended to other sectors so that local businesses could become stronger and more investment-friendly, and Pakistani products could compete more effectively in international markets.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that redundant licences, repeated submission of documents, vague renewal conditions and overlapping inspections by different Federal, Provincial and local authorities do not necessarily protect consumers, serve public interest and promote investment. Instead, they increase the cost of doing business, jeopardise investment and discourage smaller businesses from formalization. Effective regulation should protect consumers, workers and the environment while making compliance simple, transparent, predictable and time-bound. He said that the scale of the existing burden demonstrates the urgency of reform. Dairy and beverage businesses may have to deal with 40 registrations, licences, certificates and other permits issued by 25 departments. Compliance can involve 235 information and documentary requirements, of which 134, or 57 percent, are duplicative and often relate to information already available from government bodies. The proposed reforms can reduce the documentation burden to approximately 83 requirements, save more than Rs58.41 billion annually and reduce cumulative processing time by around 643 days.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that merely placing applications and processing systems online would not be sufficient. Unnecessary licences/permits should be abolished, essential requirements should be consolidated, inspections should be conducted based on risk assessment, and the databases of all relevant institutions should be interconnected. Businesses should be required to submit their information and documents only once and should be able to track the progress of all approvals online. He said Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest milk producer, with annual production exceeding 65.7 million tons. However, only 3 percent of milk is processed for value addition, while approximately 15 percent is lost due to inadequate cold-chain facilities, poor storage, and inefficient transportation. Livestock and dairy contribute around 14.04 percent to GDP and support the livelihoods of more than eight million rural families. Pakistan produces approximately 7.2 million tons of fruit annually. However, inadequate processing & packaging, weak value addition, difficulties in accessing markets and insufficient awareness of importing countries’ regulatory requirements have prevented Pakistan from converting fruit-based products into substantial exports.
Mian Zahid Hussain said all Federal, Provincial and local licensing authorities and regulatory bodies should be given clear economic targets to attract new investment in Dairy & Beverages, reduce losses, promote modern processing & value addition, ensure the availability of safe & pasteurised milk, improve branding and certification and facilitate access to international markets. He said that the performance of these institutions should be evaluated based on the development and promotion of the businesses they regulate. Regulations should be used to strengthen public health and safety standards and make regulatory oversight more effective, scientific, result-oriented and not for the suppression of businesses. Mian Zahid Hussain added that the regulatory frameworks governing textiles, engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, construction, agriculture, food processing, logistics, mining, and information technology should also be reviewed to promote business.
