Pak textile sector seeks technical, financial assistance

23 Jan '14

2 min read

Textile sector representatives in Pakistan have urged the Government to extend technical and financial assistance, to help them fully exploit the benefits under the GSP Plus status granted by the EU since January 1, 2014.

The demand was placed at a public-private dialogue on “Enhancing Competitiveness and Export Potential of Textile and Leather Garments” organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC), Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD) and Punjab Industries Department, under the EU-funded Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA II) programme.

Textile sector representatives demanded that the Government should assist them in obtaining loans from banks for upgrading obsolete technology. Also, they urged the Government to set up state-managed technical institutes to ease skilled manpower issues, cut duty on raw material and machinery imports and make efforts to check illegal imports of finished products, particularly from countries like Iran and Afghanistan.

Roshan Ara, Development Advisor, EU delegation to Pakistan, emphasized on the need for Pakistan to raise its productivity and environmental and certification compliance capacity, so as to enable the textile sector reap the real benefits of the GSP Plus scheme.

Highlighting the issues impeding growth of the textile sector, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sohail Lashari highlighted the need for establishing a dialogue between the Government and the private sector to address these issues and also to bring in some policy reforms to better equip the sector to benefit from schemes like GSP Plus.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Fazal Abbas Maken and ITC representative Owais Khan, however, urged the entrepreneurs to focus on enhancing productivity and competitiveness to produce demand-based products and even make efforts to tap even other markets, alongside the EU.

Representatives of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association also participated in the dialogue.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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