Pakistan textile sector shares woes with Senate Committee

29 Oct '12

2 min read

Unavailability of utilities and certified cotton seed, along with a negative impression that global community is carrying about the country’s production capacity are causing the Pakistani textile industry to incur losses, industry stakeholders informed the Sub-Committee of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Textile.

The Committee met to study the problems and issues impacting the country’s textile sector, including all sub-sections of the textile value chain, and to suggest ways to overcome the same.

The Committee chaired by Mohsin Khan Leghari was informed that utilities and subsidies extended by Governments of other competitor nations are negatively impacting the country’s textile exports to world markets.

The value-added textile exports contribute about 50 percent of the country’s overall exports and account for about 80.26 percent share of the textile sector exports, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) Chairman Javed Bilwani said.

He added that it would be difficult to realize the envisaged textile export target of US$ 25 billion for this fiscal, owing to the Government’s failure in implementing the Textile Policy.

Moreover, billions of rupees of drawback claims of exporters are stuck up with the Government, which has stagnated production and is restraining exporters from keeping their export commitments, he said.

Updating the Committee, Kanwar Usman, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textile, said financial crisis and inadequate releases by the Government, are making it difficult for the Ministry to implement some of the measures like support scheme, introduced under the Textile Policy 2009-14.

Elaborating, he said, against his Ministry’s demand of Pk Rs. 42 billion for implementing the measures, the Government released only Rs. 9.8 billion in 2009-10, Rs. 7.5 billion against demand for Rs. 46 billion in 2010-11, and Rs. 6 billion against demand of Rs. 35 billion in 2011-12.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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