KARACHI: Amazon officially added Pakistan to its sellers list on Friday, enabling the country’s manufacturers and exporters to register themselves with the American e-commerce giant and use the world’s largest online shopping platform to market their products internationally.
The commerce ministry has been working with Amazon since June 2020 to have sellers from Pakistan included in its network which already covers 102 countries. To date, Pakistani users have sold their products on Amazon through shadow accounts registered in other countries.
“We are excited to announce that as of today, Pakistani entrepreneurs are eligible to sell on Amazon,” Eric Broussard, vice president of the Amazon International Seller Services, was quoted by Pakistan’s commerce ministry as saying in a statement circulated on Friday. “We are eager to work with Pakistan’s dynamic business community, including small and medium-sized sellers, and help connect them with customers around the globe.”
Pakistan’s top officials applauded the development and said it would immensely benefit the country’s business community.
The prime minister’s advisor on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, described it as “a big accomplishment” in a Twitter post and said it would “open up vast opportunities for a new breed of young men & women entrepreneurs.”
“In order to reap full benefits, a lot of hard work has to be done in training, quality assurance, improvement in logistics, payment systems, customer relationship management etc.,” Dawood was quoted as saying in an official statement issued by the commerce ministry.
Dawood said the ministry would arrange focus group discussions with local sellers, representatives of various logistical companies, members of other government ministries and officials of the central bank to help Pakistani entrepreneurs understand how to make use of this opportunity.
The commerce ministry described Pakistan’s Amazon listing in its statement as an accomplishment of the country’s e-commerce policy, applauding the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, Consulate General in Los Angeles and diaspora community on the West Coast for their efforts.
According to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry is already compiling a comprehensive list of local individuals and firms interested in selling on Amazon.
Officials at the National E-Commerce Council said the challenge for Pakistani entrepreneurs was only beginning since they would now have to develop a scientific understanding of Amazon’s workings.
“Pakistani entrepreneurs will have to work hard along scientific lines and thoroughly research this new business model since simple listing will not work for them,” Badar Khushnood, a member of the National E-Commerce Council, told Arab News. “It is not like a magic wand that will help them sell their products online.”
Khushnood, who played an active role in helping Pakistan with the Amazon listing, explained that local businesses would have to determine their optimum inventory levels, where to store their products and how to indulge in branding activities.
“The government will also need to update its old policies governing exports from Pakistan,” he added. “The State Bank of Pakistan’s regulations need to be improved as the country graduates to the new stage that involves B2B2C [business to business to consumer].”
