Charter of the Economy The real disappointment is the level of exports of Pakistan to China. Despite the FTA with China, which was further liberalized in December 2019, and access through the CPEC highway network, exports are still below$2 billion to China. Also, the pattern of trade with China is highly skewed. Exports by China to Pakistan are over$10 billion, almost 20 percent of Pakistan’s total imports. These imports were almost six times the exports of Pakistan to China. In fact, Pakistan’s trade deficit with one country, China, is almost 30 percent of its global trade deficit. 16.4. Assessment of Competitiveness of Exports There is need to assess the competitiveness generally of exports of Pakistan, with respect to other South Asian countries and competitors elsewhere like Vietnam and Thailand. Various indicators of competitiveness have been identified and their magnitudes presented for a sample of countries. The Table 16.6 reveals that Pakistan is severely handicapped with respect to its competitors. First, the electricity tariff is the highest among the five countries highlighted in Table 16.6. Fortunately, six export industries – textiles, carpets, leather, sports goods, and surgical instruments – enjoy a lower tariff of$9 per kwh. However, other exporting industries like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, petroleum refining, plastics, beverages, sugar, etc., face high tariff of almost$17 per kwh, which is more than twice the tariff in a country like Vietnam. Second, HSD oil is the key component of transport cost to and from exporting units. The only country which has a significantly higher price is India. Third, labor productivity, according to the ILO, in Pakistan is lower than in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Table 16.6: Indicators of Export Competitiveness in A Sample of Countries Country Electricity Tariff on Industry a Price of HSD Oil b Minimum Wage Labor Interest CurrentRate Productivity Rate f of Inflation e (cents/kwh)($ per litre)(Monthly US$) c ($) d (%)(%) SOUTH ASIA Bangladesh 10.6 0.767 96 10,067 4.75 5.2 India 11.5 1.257 n.a. 21,181 4.00 6.3 Pakistan 16.8 g 0.715 110 15,294 7.00 9.7 Sri Lanka 6.8 0.558 n.a. 31,130 4.50 5,2 EAST ASIA Vietnam 7.7 0.620 n.a. 11,970 4.00 2.4 Thailand 12.0 0.772 218 31,204 0.50 1.3 a for business, as of September 2020| b for businesses transportation purposes as of Mid-April 2021 c as of 2018 to 2020| d Constant 2011 International$ in PPP| e of the GDP Deflator in 2019 f of the Central Bank| g for five export sectors – textiles, surgical goods, carpets, leather and sports goods Sources: Diverse 158