Factors Influencing the Sale of Cottage Industry: A Study of Islampur, District Swat

Abstract

Small scale industries plays a vital role in the socioeconomic development of the developing countries. It contribute significantly to to reduce the poverty, creates jobs and boost the economic activities. In developing countries, Small medium enterprises (SME’s) contributes approximately 70 % in employment and 36 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP of the country). The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influence the sales of cottage industry in Islampur district swat. Primary data having sample size of  208 firms has been designed to evaluate the factors that influence the sales of cottage industries in specific area. Priority index has been constructed to rank the influential variables of sales. Results of descriptive statistics shows that out of 208 firms, 168 has a informal source of financing, while 40 have the formal source of financing. Approximately, 161 out of 208 cottage firms were hold by single individual while 47 firms  have a shared ownership. Similarly 177 producer sell their products at local markets while 31 firms have international linkages to sell their products. According to the results of priority index, the expensive raw material indexed at 0.82, make it the top raked issue that effect the sale of cottage industry. While load shedding indexed at 0.81 that remains the second issue according to priority index. The cottage industry of Islampur is well-known for producing traditional shawls, Caps and other garments that represent the culture of the region. There is a need to tackle the issues faced by the cottage industry at Islampur.