"Made in Gujranwala" Industrial Exhibition 2003

Boosting Exports through E-Commerce

by: Ch. Shafiq Ahmed (Vice President GCCI)

This article tries to analyze how e-commerce can boost Pakistani exports. The major aim is to study the export trends of Pakistan and comparing it with other developing countries exports. Countries who want to increase their exports are utilizing the boom in the E-commerce related fields and are domestically and internationally. Pakistan is low-income country but shows optimistic signs of growth. The situation has dramatically been changed during the past few years and we can hope to carry a better position in the years to cme

It is surviving amid ingrained economic problems like high population growth rate, lack of foreign investment, huge deficits, heavily indebted on foreign aid, unstable government and large chunks of GDP going to military expenditures. And most recently the drought likes conditions in the country which is affecting 58 of the total 106 district in the country. Keeping aside all these problems Pakistan has to grow utilizing its full potential and taping its full resources. Here, major problems with Pakistan is that Pakistan in not trying to search the potential market of its product and make capture major market share. If we only promote our exports properly, the current scenario of our economy may be changes. It is however possible if Pakistani companies use latest technology i.e. E-commerce of internet in discovering, developing and communicating new products and markets.

Electronic communication can increase exports. The stall of Guft University.

Current Exports Scenario
Current stale of economy of Pakistan does not indicate a very favorable position especially in term of exports, the only pliable solution of the problem seems to be increasing exports and decreasing imports. Exports are engine of growth for any economy. Merchandise exported contributes to the rise in gross national product. The result of growth in exports leads to lower trade deficit and more bobs attributed to exports.

Today many firms export occasionally but want exporting plans fully integrated in to their marketing plans. Others export to two or more markets but want to expand into many countries just 15 per cent of the Pakistan exporters account for 85 per cent of the value of the Pakistani manufactured exports. More than half of the Pakistani exporters sell only in one foreign market. Less 3 % of the companies export to more than 5 markets.

There is tremendous potential for Pakistan to become more active in exports however export trends narrate another story. Pakistan’s exports in the year 2001 amounted only to $ 9.14 billion. It was not able to reach the target of $10.1 billion. Japan and European union which are principal importers of pakistna, drought like condition in the our country, high cost of production etc one of the major problem, which has further deteriorated the condition of Pakistan has not positioned itself as a very reliable country.
Moreover if we look at Pakistani exports Pakistan is still relying heavily on textile cotton and related products constitutes around 60 % of our total exports. We export commodities like textiles (garments, cloth and yarn), rice, and other agriculture products; on the contrary we import machinery, petroleum, products, chemicals, transportation equipment, edible oils, grains, pulses and flour. Diversification of export trade should be followed by Pakistani should not rely only on agricultural products but we should broaden our export base. The are mineral products, canned food & software which needs to be fully exploited and search of potential market. If we compare Pakistan with India who is exporting assorted products we come to the conclusion that India is exporting variety of products ranging from software to canned food from fashion apparel to satellite programmers

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?
We need to define electronic commerce before considering its befits for exports. We can define electronic commerce from four different perspectives.
Communication perspective, electronic commerce is delivering of information, products/services, or payment via telephone lines, computer networks, or any other means.
From an business process perspective, electronic commerce is the application of technology toward the automation of business transactions and workflow.
From a service perspective electronic commerce is a toll that addresses the desire of firms, customs are, and management to cut service costs while improving the quality of goods and increasing the speed of service delivery

Electronic Commerce
“Electronic commerce can play a major role in boosting Pakistan’s exports, which have stagnated. [A.R. Kemal 1998], Pakistan can improve its conditions by using E-commerce. Internet could play a dramatic role in boosting Pakistani exports. All types of companies in Pakistan have the excess to internet through which they can increase trade nationally and internationally. The Internet is a power full tool revolutionizing all aspects of business. However, few firms are using the internet effectively to generate or support international orders because they are unfamiliar with export requirements. Even developed country like America is about the global scope of electronic commerce and build support for a private-sector led approach the e-commerce policy, both nationally and internationally. For the above mentioned purpose the U.S. Department of commerce, keep on informing America exporters through seminar series on strategies and procedures that will help firms overcome the challenges of international business and make more effective use of the Internet to expand global sales. Pakistanis have always considered America as a paragon in every walk of life so why not in terms of export policies.

Major Challenges in E-Commerce It's also important to know that fraud runs rampant on the Internet. And unfortunately Exporters bear the primary responsibility for ensuring whether a transaction is legitimate before filling the order. In other words, if a transaction is fraudulent, exporter failed to take the all important steps to verify the legitimate of the order. While many companies are successfully using the internet to support their domestic activities. Its use to move into the global marketplace is posing more difficult challenges. There are many cosi and risks associate with the exporting through the net as well. it is the company to weight against these costs and risks. These difficulties have led many firms, especially small-and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) to ignore international markets and reject international opportunities even when orders land on heir doorstep via the internet. Thus there are many issues which needs to be addressed before using e-commerce like internationalization, multi-currency pricing and payments systems; legal and regulatory issue, vertical and horizontal marketplaces; and fulfillment and delivery. If one of the key benefits of electronic commerce is its creation of a seamless global marketplace, than one of the most significant challenges is national, legal and regulatory issues that impacts electronic commerce.

Probable Solutions
Solution to these problems is neither easy nor impossible
¢ Pakistan's all the Chamber of Commerce with the help of Ministry of Finance and Technology should build a comprehensive profile of countries containing e-commerce legal and regulatory data. It should follow-up consultations with Department of Commerce's staff of global experts. Further they should conduct various seminars to extends the reach of the companies in industry sectors.
¢ Trade policies should provide more incentives to the exporters.
¢ Exporters could obtain a qualified export counseling and make a master international marketing plan before exporting business. The plan should tell goals, objectives problems encountered.

Conclusion:
Pakistan must act quickly in terms of adapting E-commerce as one of the modes of exporting to other countries. The internet's global reach enables it to bring together far-flung business into communities or hubs focused on common business interests. In order to complete with other countries or even to survive Pakistan should take effective measures to boost its exports, reduce its deficits, and widen its global markets. Pakistani exporters can increase their exports by diversifying their product markets and product lines. Exporters should also build up good image abroad. Images, which has been marred be delays, low quality products and cheating.