Pakistan’s Surgical Instruments Industry holds a history of over 100 years when the surgical instruments of British doctors got repaired by the skilled workers of Sialkot and that was the groundwork of the Sialkot Surgical Industry.
The surgical instruments industry is mostly found in and around the suburbs of Sialkot. More than 99% of the country’s production is centered at Sialkot. The sector contains over 3500+ companies.
Pakistan is one of the leading countries in the world that is producing and exporting hand-held quality surgical instruments across the world.
Read more: Almost 70% of the world’s soccer balls are made in Sialkot city
US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, UAE, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Russia are among the Top 10 buyers. While America is the major market for disposable instruments, a majority of reusable instruments are exported to the EU. Besides, the country’s direct exports of surgical instruments to China are also on the rise.
Problems of Surgical Instruments Industry in Pakistan
According to industrialists, this sector is facing several problems. They range from marketing to the adoption of modern technology.
- Marketing is a fundamental problem because of a failure to develop local brands. Energy supply is another primary handicap.
- Both industrialists and the government do not allocate funds for R&D for the innovation of new products.
- Non-availability of training institutes to train human resources. As 95percent of the surgical industry works in the SME sector, a requirement for a common facility center to decrease the cost of production is always there.
- Sialkot is the main leading exporter of surgical instruments, however, it may also come under threat from forthcoming competition from China and Mexico.
- The government also remained unsuccessful to secure direct market access for these products under its made-up preferential trade contracts.
- The Corona pandemic has created huge havoc in Pakistan’s most relevant export markets due to which buyers were closed down and shipments were either delayed or halted altogether. Thus adversely affecting the country’s exports.
