Pakistan's exports will exceed $14 billion dollar target in the current fiscal year, Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said according to an official statement. Pakistani exports in the months of February and March compared to similar months of 2004, increased by 32 percent, he said adding that the overall exports have registered major increase. "So far, we are 14.7 percent higher than the first 9 months of last year," Khan, currently on a visit to the United States, said. At this rate, he said he was projecting exports to exceed $14 billion in this fiscal year. The commerce minister said these remarkable attainments have been possible because of the government's policies. Pakistan's exports in 1999 were $7.8 billion that have now almost doubled. Last year, exports amounted to $12.3 billion. _The fiscal stability we have achieved in the last five years has a major role to play in it. The investor-confidence in Pakistan is at an all time high As every business in Pakistan is in an expansion mode right now,_ Khan said. Pakistan, he said, is importing machinery worth billions of rupees, raw material imports have increased almost by more than 50 percent, which means that state-of-the-art technology capacity is being installed in Pakistan. Khan said that industrial growth rate is high and exportable surpluses are being created, which are now being exported, and resulting in increase in exports. "It is a very healthy sign," he added.
