KARACHI, June 19 The government has failed to release funds for the strategic trade policy framework (STPF) announced for a period of three years under the Trade Policy 2009-12 announced last year.

Though the budget 2009-10 earmarked a hefty amount of Rs40 billion for achieving various initiatives under the STPF for the growth of exports but so far not a single penny has been released as the fiscal year is near to close.

It is even more disturbing for the trade and industry that against most of the initiatives of the STPF public notices were also issued but the ministry of finance failed to release the required funds.

According to leaders of many trade bodies the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) under the directives of the ministry of commerce issued public notices for various schemes included in the STPF during the entire year.

In response to these notices different segments of trade and industry applied to avail the schemes and also incurred sizeable expenditures to meet the conditions of these initiatives.

Even on holding several meetings with the high-ups of the MoC the funds were not made available and each time leaders of various trade bodies were assured to get required funds in the next quarter.

However, at a recent meeting with the ministry it was disclosed that the finance has not released funds allocated in the last budget for STPF because most of these funds had been diverted to other schemes like Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and fiscal relief packages given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that Secretary Commerce Zafar Mahmood regretted the situation and non-availability of much needed funds for the growth of exports in different sectors of the economy.

Fawad Ijaz Khan, former chairman Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Plgmea) told Dawn that the major chunk of the Rs40 billion allocated for STPF under the budget would have gone to the textile sector and around Rs1 billion for the leather sector.

The schemes designed under STPF included setting up of design centre for leather garments, hiring of foreign experts and creation of research and development cell in trade bodies, bearing 25 per cent cost for laboratory in tanning industry and for effluent treatment plant.

He lamented that the new budget would further hit exports because it has reduced the allocation for growth of exports from Rs40 billion to Rs10 billion only. Now the question arises that which sector will get how much or once again these funds will not be released by the Ministry of Finance as had been the case in this fiscal.