By Ayesha Mudassar ISLAMABAD, May 26 (NP-WealthPk): The manufacturers of electric fans in Pakistan have said that their presence will be felt by the competitors in the international market if their difficulties are resolved on a priority basis. “Pakistan has enormous potential to manufacture and export electric fans at a larger scale,” Ihsan Mujtaba, Secretary General of Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturing Association (PEFMA), told WealthPK. However, he said that shortage of skilled workers, lack of modern technology and limited availability of viable credit were hindering the development of the industry. He added that seasonal production further complicated issues in the industry. Most of the orders were placed with them from January to early July while a large number of factories remained shut in the remaining months. Mr Mujtaba said that identification of irregular and inefficient production processes, introduction of a standardisation mechanism and adopting modern technology are necessary to improve the sector and enable it to compete with others in the international market. Muhammad Hasnain, the manager of Al-Meraj Fan Industries, said that hike in the prices of raw material, including electric steel sheets, copper wire, aluminium and other items, significantly increased the manufacturing cost of fans in the country. He said that exporters of Pakistani fans were unable to offer competitive prices to clients in the international market owing to high cost of production and excessive reliance on imported raw material. According to estimates, demand for ceiling fans will reach an approximate size of $14.95 billion globally by 2027, with a projected growth rate of 4.90% from 2020 to 2027. The growth of the construction industry, the increase in world population and rapid urbanisation are likely to increase demand for electric fans and give a boost to the industry across the globe as well as in Pakistan till 2027. In Pakistan, this branch of the light engineering industry produces a variety of fans including pedestal, ceiling, wall and exhaust fans. Pakistan’s fan industry is mostly based in Gujrat and Gujranwala regions of Punjab, consisting of 450 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Approximately 98% of the country's manufacturing capacity is concentrated in these two regions. WealthPK has learnt that fan industry in Pakistan has created about 90,000 indirect employment opportunities. The export of Pakistani fans is mainly concentrated in low-income markets such as Africa, Bangladesh and the Middle East. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the country exported electric fans worth $24.87 million during the first nine months of the current fiscal as compared to $ 25.47 million during the corresponding period of last year.