Lahore - A high level delegation of Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Monday left for Sri Lanka on a 3-day visit to explore new markets and strengthening existing bilateral trade relations with their counterparts in furniture industry during business to business contacts.

Prior to departure at airport, PFC Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq, heading the delegation, said members of the delegation would study about the latest trends of designing of products and modern technologies in their fields to better their trade to compete for global markets. He said PFC is focusing on marketing activities in key foreign markets mainly United States, Japan, European Union, the Gulf region and South Asia. He said Sri Lanka can provide huge opportunities to Pakistani exporters to market their products including handmade furniture in European markets in collaboration with Lankan companies.

Replying to a question about the future scope of trade with Sri Lanka, he said Pakistan can easily double exports to Sri Lanka in a year’s time by effectively using the duty concessions under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and if the steps would be taken timely in right direction, he expected Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka to $500 million from the current $267 million within a year.

He said the trade balance is heavily in favour of Pakistan. “Its exports to Sri Lanka amounted to $267 million while Sri Lankan exports to Pakistan were worth just $58 million,” he added. “Sri Lanka mainly exports textile products like men’s T-shirts while it imports bed wear, trousers, silk and synthetic textile and other ready-made garments. Pakistan’s exports are slowly growing and it can further increase its share.”