Amazon seller status for Pakistan is likely to go down the drain

Imagine a huge marketplace buzzing with activity having products of all kinds and quality. A little shop at the center of that market has hardly a few items on the shelf. What will the seller do in that big bazaar? How would he supply the products whose demand is already there? The situation of Pakistan getting the Amazon seller status is no different. Do we have the manufacturing powerhouse to open our doors to the global demands?

The other day I was discussing the current business situation of Pakistan with my friends. The debate eventually turned to China, and how the biggest country in the world by population developed itself into the greatest industrial giant. Pakistan on the other hand has done everything to erode its industrial infrastructure. In the last decade or so a large number of manufacturing units have shifted to Bangladesh. Due to expensive electricity, lack of support and planning from the government the industrial sector is becoming the weakest link in our economic system. In such a dismal state of affairs getting the Amazon seller status seems premature.

The advertising and marketing experts in Pakistan are hailing this development as a big step for Pakistan. In the realms of digital marketing and advertising, this indeed is a positive development, but this will not live up to the potential the marketers are eyeing for. The behavior of Pakistan economy is parasitic. We are an import-oriented country. Everything is imported from China from a small plastic pot to large sophisticated machinery. We have relied so much on Chinese goods that small-scale industry gradually withered away.   

Despite the abundance of natural resources and manpower the country has been struggling to establish its exports overseas. For a country like Pakistan Amazon seller status is not going to do much. It may be profitable for some people at the individual level but on the larger scale, it requires a lot of effort and time to build strong manufacturing units to enable the sellers to sell at the international level.

It is only hoping against hope that Amazon seller status for Pakistan will provide new e-commerce opportunities for the country. It is also hoped that the development would trigger a new era of manufacturing, invention, and innovation. It is also hoped that the government will seriously make agricultural reforms to produce enough raw material for the industry to keep churning out quality products in large quantities; otherwise, the amazon seller status will be worthless for Pakistan.