Federal Minister for Industry and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud has assured the business community that issues related to marble and granite sector will be resolved. The minister also highlighted the importance of promoting marble exports which are far behind their existing potential. Addressing a seminar on “Marble and Granite Sector Development on International Standards”, Mahmud said currently the marble exports stand at $37 million which should reach at least $337 million.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and the Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC).
Pakistan, he said, possesses huge reserves of stones with rare colours which make the country’s marble and granite one of the most promising sectors of the economy. He said a majority of the export of this sector is in raw form, so there is a need to work for producing finished products for domestic consumption and exports.

He said the country could not achieve sustainable growth because Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) were ignored over the years and successive governments focused on Large Scale Manufacturing Industry (LSMI). The government would facilitate the private sector and work closely with it for promotion of this sector.

ICCI President Muhammad Shakeel Munir said Pakistan has huge marble and granite deposits and the monthly production has reached 6,000 tons per month. There is excessive local demand that has been impeding exports, he said. There are around 2,000 processing units across the country, with every city having a marble factory, so there is a need to take productive measures to improve exports. PASDEC Chief Executive Officer Babar Miraj Shami said around 75 stones are extracted from 1,400 quarries. The stones extracted from the country have huge demand due to colour, texture and quality, he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk