Industry and Manufacturing Quetta

The city of Quetta is the centre of commercial activities of the province. It lies on the main trading routes to Afghanistan and Iran. Moreover, it is a gateway to the Central Asian states. Trade also involves the inflow and outflow of goods and services from other provinces. The value of legal inflow and outflow of goods is recorded at the borders. Illegal trading activities do take place. There is a general belief that the magnitude of illegal trade (smuggling) is far greater than the legal one. The last two decades have witnessed substantial industrial growth in Quetta. Now Quetta is not only a commercial and trading centre, but also is also becoming an industrial city.

This has been the outcome of a liberal industrial policy and a package of incentives given by the government to the private sector. It is hoped that with further expansion of infrastructure facilities and incentives, the industrial sector will gain further momentum. One of the major reasons for the expansion of industrial sector in Quetta has been the specific incentive given for Balochistan: income tax holidays, exemption of customs duty, a sales tax on imported machinery and credit facilities etc.

There are two industrial estates in Quetta. The first one is located at Sirki road, it is considered as Mini Industrial Estate. The other is located at Sariab By-Pass, 13 Km away from Quetta, which was established in 1986-87. All the utility requirements are available.

According to the information provided in the Directory of Industrial Establishments in Balochistan for the year 1994, there are at least 20 types of industries operating in Quetta. They are mostly small industries and labour intensive in nature. The number of industrial units is 156, employing 1,992 persons.

It is unfortunate that the number of females and children involved in the industrial sector is not known. However, information was obtained from the Labour Department for the year 1993-94. This information is confined to the informal sector. According to this source there were more than 100 different establishments and their aggregate number was 19,063. These units were employing 20,756 workers. It is interesting to note that the total number of females was 77, while the number of children was 1,693, underlining the magnitude of the issue of child labour.

From the above information, it can be seen that retail trade is one of the major economic activities. The proportion of children in total number of workers is 8% while the proportion of female is slightly higher than 0,33%.

In retail - and wholesale trade 9,419 enterprises are active, providing employment to 20,674 persons. There are 27 mills and 129 manufacturing units. In the hotel/ guest-house sector 284 units can be found. There are 20 transport enterprises.

There are a large number of small enterprises such as auto electric works, flour mills, Engineering workshops and transport companies. They are employing only male

labourers. At present the provincial government is involved in providing vocational training facilities to unemployed persons in various professions (tailoring, mechanical, furniture, computer etc). For example, there are 17 carpet weaving training centres, employing 445 people; 10 carpet centres are exclusively for girls. There are 24 brick kilns employing 321 people (35 females).

Leather is manufactured a.o. in the form of purses and belt and shoes (Chappals): The Balochi Chappal is famous throughout the country. There are 267 units of shoe makers employing 873 labourers. The proportion of children working in the shoe making units was 16%.

Carpentry and furniture making is a flourishing business in Quetta city. This business is concentrated mostly in Sirki and Mechonghi Roads and there are more than 100 shops employing not less than three hundred carpenters.

Quetta is a trade route leading to Afghanistan and Iran. Therefore, there is a transit route between these countries. Trade takes place legally as well as illegally (smuggling). From Afghanistan, fresh as well as dry fruit, timber, cotton sheep and goat skins are imported into Pakistan. Similarly from Iran petrol, blankets, plastic goods, carpets, dried fruit, hosiery goods, fresh fruit e.g. cherries and tinned fruit come into the country. Veterinary medicines and medicines for human consumption are smuggled into Quetta come into the country. The magnitude of import can be gauged from the number of trucks coming into Pakistan. According to the available information, from January to December, 1996 , 19,708 trucks from Afghanistan came into Pakistan while 3,088 trucks were engaged in exports to Afghanistan during the same period. It should be remembered that transit trade to India also takes place via Quetta.

The Revenue collection from different headings like Customs Duty, Sale Tax and others during January - December 1996 was 248.30 million rupees.

This is only one side of the picture, a greater proportion of trading activities is not possible to document due to the illegal nature of the trade. Normaly food items particularly wheat, sugar and edible oil are smuggled to Afghanistan, while a number of products of Afghan origin and merchandised items of foreign origin are smuggled into Quetta district via Chaman. The economic effects of these activities are that there is normally shortage of wheat and edible oil in Quetta and adjoining districts. Foreign goods are available at cheaper rates, discouraging industrial development. Indeed, Quetta is a paradise for smugglers. The retail trade has flourished over the years, due to smuggling.

The district Quetta has ample attraction for tourists. Quetta is linked by rail, road, air and telecommunication with the rest of the world. It is the fruit land of Pakistan, plums, peaches, pomegranate, apricots, apples, Zaitoon, some unique varieties of melons and cherries, pistachio and almonds are all grown in abundance. Nomads visit Quetta valley with their herds of sheep and camel. This seasonal movement adds colour to the life of the city. Quetta is famous for its traditional food particularly Sajji (Leg of lamb) roasted to a delightful degree of tenderness and not very spicy. It is specially prepared by keeping meat on rods in a circle, around the fire. Hazagunji (Chiltan National Park) is a sanctuary for rare birds and animals e.g. Markhors are observed rarely . It is only in Hazargunji that they are found. The valley of Quetta is surrounded by mountains, springs and lakes. From Quetta other tourism spots like Bund Khushdil Khan, Ziarat, are easily accessible. Thus Quetta holds several tourist attraction of immense potential.

There are more than 3 hundred hotels and restaurants which can cater the needs of tourists. It is worth mentioning that leaving 5 star hotels aside, the rents are reasonable as compared to other cities of Pakistan e.g. a single room in a well furnished hotel would cost Rs.150/- per night.

There is a wide scope for the tourism industry in Quetta and Balochistan as a whole, what is needed is to exploit the potential of this area into the tourists. The Government, through the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), has tried to introduce Quetta and other tourist spots in Balochistan to interested tourists in and outside Pakistan. For this purpose attractive pamphlets with complete information are available free of cost. PTDC has also provided accommodation and transport facilities to tourists. The PTDC offices provide information and assistance if needed.

Embroidery is a prominent activity for women. It should be remembered that embroidery is not only an economic activity, but also a traditional heritage of this district. Quetta being a multi-lingual city, is the custodian of traditional heritage of Pashtoon, Balochis, Brahuis, Hazaras and Punjabis. So a variety of handicrafts can be seen.

The traditional handicrafts include embroidery work on Kameez and Shalwar of children and women as well as embroidery on caps and bed covers, pillow covers etc. Traditional handicraft activities also include making woollen sweaters. Mirror work and embroidered jackets, shirts, hand bags are traditional items. Females are mostly involved in this activity. To popularize the traditional handicrafts in this area, government takes keen interest and a number of programmes of training for girls and women have been introduced. The programme also included many carpet weaving centres. Those women who are engaged in embroidery work bring their finished work to the local shopkeepers. Handicraft activities are performed by women both in and outside the household boundaries. There is also the opportunity sell the produce outside the district through NGOs. In this connection, exhibitions are held periodically at Lahore and Karachi as well as Quetta.

The Directorate of Small Industries has been functioning in Quetta district for a long time. The main objectives of this institution are:

Local government and NGOs are involved in providing certain type of vocational training. Provincial government has substantial involvement in the provision of all the commercial services to small industries. Federal government is involved only to the extent of provision of credit facilities through banks. The role of private enterprise includes credit and marketing services.

At present small enterprises have no supporting structure for the manufacturing sector. But in the near future, there is scope for private efforts, and they are likely to provide the necessary support to industry. There are some consulting firms in the district.

Coverage Commercial Services			Local Govt.	Prov. Govt.	Fed. Govt.	NGO	Internat. Donor	Private Entr.
Vocational Training			x	x	-	x	-	-
Management Training			-	x	-	x	-	-
Acquisition			-	x	-	-	-	-
Public Relations			-	x	x	x	-	-
Credit			-	-	x	x	-	x
Marketing			-	x	x	-	-	x
Legend:	- x xx	no involvement minor involvement substantial involvement

Its own market and its geographical location makes Quetta the hub of commercial activities in Balochistan. Industry plays a role of some importance in the district's economy, which is among others the result of a liberal policy, including incentives, from the side of the government. About twenty different types of industrial activity can be found; about 160 units are active in industry, employing roughly 2,000 persons.

Retail and wholesale trade , with nearly 9,500 units, employ about ten times more people. It is estimated that the informal sector involves about the same number, around 20,000 persons.

There are hardly any women employed in these sectors. Child labour is an issue. Women are involved in embroidery. Most of the work is sold through local shopkeepers.

Constraints in the further development of the sector are a.o. the lack of skilled labour (more attention for vocational training is needed), the lack of interest among the local wealthy people to invest in industry. Of course the lack of raw materials and the distance to large markets (Karachi, Sindh) play a role as well. Moreover, the illegal trade (smuggle) tends to hamper industrial development.