Pakistan's FPCCI urges govt for value-addition in textiles

31 Dec '13

2 min read

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the Government to make a detailed plan in order to stimulate value addition in textiles and other sectors in the country to encourage exports and employment for fully benefitting from the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status granted by the European Union (EU).

FPCCI president Zubair Ahmad Malik, while speaking to a business community in Islamabad said the country lags behind value-addition, which is a reason behind unemployment and lower volume of exports, reports APP.

Mr. Malik said the textile sector should be made a priority as it contributes 8 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for 54 percent of the overall exports, producing 24 percent of industrial value-added goods, and employing 40 percent of urban labor whilst absorbing 40 percent of bank credit.

The FPCCI official said China generates around US$ 4 billion business from one million cotton bales and India US$ 2 billion from its cotton output, whereas Pakistan only generated US$ 1 billion due to lack of value addition.

Appreciating the Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Scheme, Mr. Malik said that those getting loans should prefer to invest in different small businesses related to textiles to ensure safety of their funds and get better returns.

The FPCCI head asked the business community to step forward and take part in the power generation projects to overcome energy crisis in the country, so that textile and other industries can function at full capacity.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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