Pakistan apparel sector supports APTMA protest plan

28 Dec '12

2 min read

Apprehending that several post-Christmas orders may go to India and Bangladesh if the energy crisis continues, the value-added textile industry of Pakistan has declared its support to the decision of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to launch protests if the Government fails to resume power and gas supply to textile industry by December 28.

The Government’s decision to suspend power supply for more than a month has left the country’s textile and garment sector with no other option, but to layoff millions of workers till gas and power supply is completely restored, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) said.

The PRGMEA managing committee unanimously decided to back other industrial associations’ stance to take to streets to ensure that the country’s textile industry keeps running, the association said.

The association also noted that yarn and fabric supply to value-added and small-scale apparel industries is now getting impacted by large-scale closure of textile units across Punjab.

Raw material supply to the value-added industry, including garment and knitwear industries, has stagnated due to shutdown of several spinning, weaving and processing units in the country over the past few days. Moreover, as it is not feasible for these industries to store raw inputs for over one week, their stocks are waning, PRGMEA said.

Cessation of power supply to Punjab textile industry would send a bad message to global buyers who would start placing orders for next year from January onwards, PRGMEA added.

The association said the stoppage of power supply would certainly result in large-scale industrial shutdown and millions of laid off workers taking to the streets, if the government fails to resolve the energy crisis issue by December 28.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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