As of 31st may 2019 the dollar has reached an all-time high at 150.57 rupees in exchange of $1. As much as you want to blame the PTI government for the dollar rate today, the real culprits are us, the people of Pakistan.
We as a country import more than twice the products we export and then we complain that our currency has taken a hit. If you are sitting on your computer or checking your phone and saying that what does this have to do with you? Well, it is a simple supply and demand concept.
Us Pakistanis use almost everything imported. From the chocolates, we eat, to the clothes we wear. Each and everything comes from outside of Pakistan. You can probably say that we should stop importing less. As right as you are but that would mean that demand has to decrease also. Demand for imported goods is so high in Pakistan that people have started using each and everything imported without knowing what they are doing.
Let me give you a comprehensive list of the imported items you might use on a daily bases without knowing better.
Imported Items That Are Jacking Up The Dollar Rate
The dollar rate today has increased because of how big of an impact imports have on the exchange rate. Let me just tell you how many imported items you actually use.
Air conditioning
I think air conditioning is the best place to start since the summers in Pakistan could be unbearable. We use Gree, Kenwood, and Haier A/C, we rarely use something from Dawlance because we think that all of these other brands are just better. We should also know that all of these are imported.
Dental products
After waking up brushing and taking care of our dental hygiene is the first thing we do in the morning (well, some of us at least do that). To achieve white and healthy teeth we use kinds of toothpaste such as Colgate, Crest, and Oral-B. I can bet that you probably didn’t know that these were imported. You probably use them because you think that they are the best but, using them is driving up the dollar.
Clothing
Even though there are so many good Pakistani clothing brands out there we still prefer wearing imported stuff. We shop at Levis, Nike, Adidas, and Timberland. Ordering clothes online from foreign brands such as Champion, ASSC, FILA, and many more. We wear imported clothes and then we complain that our currency is facing a downfall. I want you to go into your closet and take out 10-15 articles of clothing which are Pakistani. This will be a hard thing to do because I too am guilty of doing this. I myself shop from these foreign brands overlooking the Pakistani clothing stores. I then too complain about how our country is going down.
Vehicles
Since the past few years, there has been a large trend of Japanese imported vehicles hitting the streets of Pakistan. Keeping in mind that there are no Pakistani vehicle companies but there are cars which are produced in Pakistan. The parts are made here and the cars are assembled here. We tend to buy Honda and Toyota more than any other car in Pakistan. But not all of their cars are made in Pakistan. A lot of these smaller cars which can be seen in Pakistan are all imported from Japan. Albeit, they are cheaper but are degrading our currency very much. It is better to buy a second-hand car instead of buying a cheaper ugly import car.
I could literally go on and on about how many imported items we use as a country. It could take me 2000 words or more to tell you just how many there are. I have given you an idea of what is happening in Pakistan regarding the import culture. Just telling you is no justice! I am going to tell you what Pakistani alternatives you can use for all these commodities.
Buy Pakistani, be Pakistani
In this section, I will give you a list of different Made in Pakistan items which you can buy instead of the imported products you are used to.