Editing Sialkot (section)

=== Industry ===

Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewn [[ball (association football)|football]]s, with local factories manufacturing 40–60&nbsp;million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eriksen|first1=Thomas Hylland|title=Globalization: The Key Concepts|date=2007|publisher=Berg|isbn=9781847886101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trYXD-uXHsMC&q=sialkot+economy&pg=PT71|access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> Since the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]], footballs for the official matches are being made by [[Forward Sports]], a company based in Sialkot.<ref name="FIFA">{{Cite web |date=9 June 2014 |title=Brazilian ambassador unveils Pak made FIFA soccer ball |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-150235-Brazilian-ambassador-unveils-Pak-made-FIFA-soccer-ball |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612083157/http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-150235-Brazilian-ambassador-unveils-Pak-made-FIFA-soccer-ball |archive-date=12 June 2014 |website=The News International}}</ref> Clustering of sports goods industrial units has allowed for firms in Sialkot to become highly specialised, and to benefit from joint action and external economies.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Jovanović|editor1-first=Miroslav N.|title=Economic integration and spatial location of firms and industries: transnational corporations and search for evidence|date=2007|publisher=Edward Elgar|isbn=9781845425838|page=468|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fMJAQAAMAAJ&q=sialkot+economy|access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> There is a well-applied child labour ban, the [[Atlanta Agreement]], in the industry since a 1997 outcry,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,683873,00.html|title=The Football Stitchers of Sialkot|author=Hasnain Kazim|date=16 March 2010|newspaper=Spiegel International|access-date=7 November 2011}}</ref> and the local industry now funds the Independent Monitoring Association for Child Labour to regulate factories.<ref name="Dinh" />

Sialkot is also the world's largest centre of surgical instrument manufacturing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fairmedtrade.org.uk|title=BMA – Fair Medical Trade|website=www.fairmedtrade.org.uk|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308134934/http://www.fairmedtrade.org.uk/|archive-date=8 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sialkot was first noted to be a centre of metalwork in the 1890s, and the city's association with surgical instruments came from the need to repair, and subsequently manufacture, surgical instruments for the nearby Mission hospital. By the 1920s, surgical instruments were being manufactured for use throughout [[British India]], with demand boosted by further by [[World War II]].<ref name=EP />

The city's surgical instrument manufacturing industry benefits from a clustering effect, in which larger manufacturers remain in close contact with smaller and specialised industries that can efficiently perform contracted work.<ref name=EP>{{cite web|url=http://emergingpakistan.gov.pk/sectors/surgical-goods/ |title=Surgical Goods         |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628033619/http://emergingpakistan.gov.pk/sectors/surgical-goods/ |date=19 December 2017|archive-date=28 June 2020|website=Emerging Pakistan, Government of Pakistan website|access-date=30 January 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> The industry is made up of a few hundred small and medium size enterprises, supported by thousands of subcontractors, suppliers, and those providing other ancillary services. The bulk of exports are destined for the United States and [[European Union]].<ref name=EP />

Sialkot first became a centre for sporting goods manufacturing during the colonial era. Enterprises were initially inaugurated for the recreation of British troops stationed along the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–2010)|North West Frontier]].<ref name="anwar" /> Nearby timber reserves served to initially allure the industry to Sialkot.<ref name="anwar" /> The city's Muslim craftsmen generally manufactured the goods, while Sikh and Hindu merchants of the Sindhi ''Bania'', ''Arora'', and Punjabi ''Khatri'' castes acted like middle men to bring goods to market.<ref name="anwar" /> Sialkot now produces a wide array of sporting goods, including footballs and hockey sticks, cricket gear, gloves that are used in international games comprising the Olympics and World Cups.<ref name="news">{{Cite web |date=10 October 2020 |title=Sialkot vital economic, industrial hub of country |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/727148-sialkot-vital-economic-industrial-hub-of-country |access-date=29 October 2020 |website=www.thenews.com.pk}}</ref><ref name="economist" />

Sialkot is also noted for its leather goods. Leather for footballs is sourced from nearby farms,<ref name="Dinh" /> while Sialkot's leather workers craft some of Germany's most prized leather ''[[lederhosen]]'' trousers.<ref name="economist" />

Sialkot also has a large share in the agricultural sector. It predominantly produces [[Basmati rice]] varieties, [[wheat]] and [[sugarcane]]. Its area is {{cvt|3,015|km2}}, at least {{cvt|642,624|acre}} are under cultivation. Potato and sunflower were evident among the minor crops of the district.<ref name="Sialkot">{{Cite web|title= Sialkot — a city with many feathers in its cap|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1625404|website=Dawn|date=24 May 2021|access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref>