KARACHI: Pakistan has launched fresh consultations with its sports goods industry to address structural weaknesses that officials and exporters say are limiting the sector’s ability to compete in international markets, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s sports goods industry, centered in Sialkot, supplies footballs and equipment to major global brands and remains one of the country’s most internationally visible export sectors. But manufacturers say outdated skills, limited certification capacity, slow export-related refunds and gaps in technical training make it harder for Pakistani products to meet the compliance and quality standards required by global buyers.
Industry representatives argue that maintaining Pakistan’s foothold in the international sports goods market will require modern training aligned with industry needs, stronger quality assurance systems and streamlined procedures for export financing and tax rebates. The sector, which employs tens of thousands of workers, has repeatedly called for third-party testing and certification to match global benchmarks.
“The importance of introducing third-party certification to meet international quality benchmarks was also highlighted,” the Ministry of Commerce said in its statement after it held a consultative meeting with the Sectoral Council for Sports Goods, chaired by Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Commerce.
It added that the meeting agreed to develop “a structured skill development initiative” with universities, NAVTTC and TEVTA to ensure training and technical qualifications “align with modern industry requirements.”
The ministry said Khan stressed the need to institutionalize regular monthly reviews of the Sectoral Council to track progress and deepen coordination between government departments and industry stakeholders.
According to the statement, exporters raised several issues affecting their global competitiveness, including procedural delays in the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) scheme, a key rebate mechanism meant to reduce exporters’ costs, and difficulties accessing the Export Finance Scheme (EFS), which provides cheaper credit for export orders.
They also emphasized the need to update technical training curricula and establish credible systems for product certification and quality assurance, requirements that major international buyers increasingly demand before placing orders.
