Industrialists urge state to support local product

Officials in a number of industrial companies operating in the country have asserted the Kuwaiti product's ability to compete with foreign products in quality, variety and prices, calling on consumers to give the national product the confidence needed to encourage and support the local industry. They said in interviews with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) during their participation in the Kuwait Industries Exhibition that local consumer now has a "misplaced conviction most of the time" that the foreign product always outperforms the domestic one in the specification, stating that many of the Kuwaiti products have what distinguishes them of international standards. They said the national product now is in dire need to strengthen its presence in the domestic market through consolidating the culture of "The Kuwaiti product is better," expressing the hope that the State and local businesses offer more support and confidence to spread this culture through media campaigns, advertising and awareness. They added that the national industry in any country has become a key component of the developed state as its development is an important element of sustainable development. Sales Manager in one of the local companies Tareq Al-Hajj said the state and the companies share the responsibility in the upgrading of the industrial sector, pointing out that the state is responsible for providing the appropriate industrial environment for industrialists. He added that the industrialist seeks to achieve a reasonable profit margin, explaining that this can not be achieved without existence of laws and regulations that keep pace with developments witnessed by the industrial manufacturing sector. For his part, sales representative at a dairy products company Ahmad Al-Ali said that participation in fairs is significant especially in Kuwait Industries Exhibition in order to display the latest products of the company to a large segment of the public at one place and time. Al-Ali added that the exhibition is an opportunity for local companies to make customers acquainted with the latest products and innovations of the industry in the local market as well as a chance for consumers to get the best product offerings at lower prices.