ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistani exporters will be able to register themselves with international e-commerce giant Amazon “within a few days,” the Pakistani commerce chief said on Thursday.
The announcement comes as Amazon works to take advantage of the boost the COVID-19 pandemic has given to e-commerce in South Asian economies.
Pakistani sellers were previously not allowed to register on the global online marketplace and had to create shadow accounts registered in other countries.
“Amazon will be adding Pakistan [to] its sellers list within a few days,” Abdul Razak Dawood, who advises Prime Minister Imran Khan on commerce and industry, said on Twitter.
We have finally made it. @amazon will be adding Pakistan its Sellers’ List within a few days. We have been engaged with Amazon since last year and now it’s happening. It is a great opportunity for our youth, SMEs and women entrepreneurs. .
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) May 6, 2021
Approaching Amazon was a major part of the country’s first ever e-commerce policy, approved in October 2019. Once Pakistani sellers are registered, they may consider opening warehouses abroad to ensure speedy delivery to consumers.
“It [is] an excellent opportunity for our youth, SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises], and women entrepreneurs,” Dawood said. “An important milestone of the e-commerce policy has been achieved through teamwork by many people across the globe.”
Pakistan’s e-commerce industry stood at approximately Rs99 billion in FY18 as compared to Rs51.8 billion in FY17, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
However, Internet retail in Pakistan is still at its nascent stage despite more than 177 million cellular subscribers, 90.5 million 3G/4G users, 100 million broadband customers, and total tele-density of over 84 percent.
“All companies and exporters fulfilling the registration criteria will be allowed to list themselves with Amazon to sell their products,” Aisha Humera Moriani, a joint secretary at the commerce ministry, told Arab News.
She said Pakistan had successfully completed a pilot project with Amazon in which 38 exporters had participated who were now eligible to fully utilize the platform.
“Amazon is completing some technical formalities and will be open for us within a couple of days,” she said.
It is not clear at this stage if the global online marketplace will be opening an office in Pakistan.
The country’s exporters welcomed the initiative, urging the government to devise a smooth payment mechanism and facilitate them with a hassle-free remittance mechanism.
“It’s a great opportunity for Pakistani entrepreneurs,” Khurram Mukhtar, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, told Arab News. “However, it will be difficult for us to fully benefit from it without an international payment gateway. We will also have to invest in our logistics to compete with the rest of the world.”
Zeeshan Tariq, chairman of the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, concurred.
“Amazon or PayPal should open their offices in Pakistan because if our customers won’t be able to make direct payments for their purchases, we won’t be able to sell them our goods as well,” Tariq said.
However, he said this was a positive development for Pakistani exporters as it would allow them to directly interact with global customers and develop their brand identity in the international market.
“The challenge now,” Tariq said, “is to exploit this opportunity to our advantage as much as we can.”
