24/09/2016
Pakistan is the leading exporter of surgical instruments, but local manufacturers receive only 2pc, or $359m, of the $17bn global trade, as most of it is lost to outsourcing importers.
Who is to be blamed for these grossly unfair trade deals? It is the inability of the industry to develop international brands.
Basically, local producers are suppliers to international brands based in the US and Western Europe, who outsource manufacturing to artisans concentrated in Sialkot.
Some international brands are reported to have shut down manufacturing facilities in their home countries as they get the best products from Pakistan’s world class artisans.
Internationally, social movement of fair trade is initiated to help producers in developing countries get a fair value for products such as coffee, sugar, fruit juices etc. Why can’t a fair trade demand be raised for surgical instruments?
In Sialkot over 10,000 different medical instruments, covering all basic and surgical segments, are being manufactured. Over 99pc of production is centred at Sialkot.
The sector comprises of around 3,000 companies with the labour force ranging from (15-450) per unit, of which around 30 can be considered large units, and 150 as medium sized enterprises.
The industry produces on average over 170m pieces a year. Of the total production, over 95pc is exported, which includes 60pc of disposable and 40pc of reusable surgical instruments. A wide range of industries including steel, chemicals, and machine parts also have strong linkages with the surgical segment.