Pakistan's bed wear exports decline sharply

01 Aug '12

2 min read

A sharp fall has been noticed in Pakistan’s bed wear exports from last fiscal year’s US$ 2.1 billion to US$ 1.49 billion this fiscal, Shabir Ahmed, Chairman, Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association, has said citing official figures.

Mr. Ahmed stated that the country’s bed wear exports have plummeted by 16 percent in terms of volume and 28 percent in terms of value during the last fiscal that ended on June 30, 2012.

With no rise in cotton prices, the country’s bed wear exports hiked to US$ 2.1 billion in 2006, which is the same level where it is today, he said.

It is depressing to note that overall textile exports from Pakistan have slumped by 18 percent, and several bed wear units have down their shutters, but regrettably the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Textile Ministry have closed their eyes and are showing no interest in correcting the situation where the value added textile sector is experiencing a declining trend, Mr. Ahmed said.

He suggested organizing a round table conference of all value-added textile industry stakeholders with representatives of TDAP, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Ministries of Commerce, Textiles, Power and Finance, so as to find a way to stop the declining trend.

He said such a step is also essential because it is not in the interest of Pakistan to lose on foreign exchange earnings on one side and face the problem of unemployment on the other.

He suggested that the President or the Prime Minister should chair the said round table so that the corrective steps may be implemented at once. Failing this, the economy may wane further leading to a continued rise in unemployment and deceleration in the value of domestic currency.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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