A complaint has been lodged by the Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) against Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) for not extending co-operation to the carpet industry. The association met Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, in this regard.
TDAP does not treat the association fairly. Moreover, it doesn't facilitate carpet exhibitions and not even pay back the amount spent on those. The association attributes massive fall in carpet exports to TDAP. The carpet export plunged down to $120 million, this year, against last year's export of $287 million.
So, Akhtar Nazir Khan, Chairman of the association pointed, before meeting the Commerce Minister that, the Ministry should take measures to support country's carpet sector. The Minister expressed concern over the negative growth of carpet exports. Earlier, carpet was the key export product of the country and the industry was a source of income of around 2 million people.
The association demanded some concessions in the area of credit financing and bank loans to the government, to deal with the recessionary impact and plummeting carpet exports. Further the association underlined that; special exhibitions for carpets can offer a fillip to exports.
Few traditional carpet industry workers of some regions need proper training and financial support to maintain supply chain of good quality products. Such assistance will also provide jobs to the people living in small towns.
The Minister ensured that, his Ministry and TDAP will offer full support to organize exhibitions for carpets. Moreover, the Federal Minister also promised his assistance to exporters, along with suggesting them to concentrate on quality and make innovations to offer competence to their products in the global market. Eastern Europe and South America are potential markets for Pakistani carpets.