While commenting on the statement, Commerce Secretary Muhammad Younus Dagha in the meeting, held last week, at Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association said that the textile industry is itself responsible for the continuous decline in exports. He also said that the Pakistani textile exports have shown decline during the last four years because of the cost of doing business which is the highest in the region.
He mentioned the higher energy costs as the main reason for damage that has hit the textile industry in Pakistan. To deal with the situation he demanded the government of Pakistan to take solid measures to compete effectively with the regional competitors including Bangladesh, India and Vietnam. The government should remove the levy of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on gas. He further demanded that the government should provide gas at the regionally competitive rate of Rs 400/MMBTU as was earlier announced by ECC in November 2016 but was not implemented.
He called the spinning and weaving sector as backbone the Pakistan textile industry and both were said to be affected highly. Today spinning industry is incurring heavy losses by selling yarn below cost he said, he further added that the production of yarn and fabric is substantially more than the local consumption; therefore, their exports must be encouraged.
He suggested the government to takes measures like expeditious payment of long outstanding sales tax refunds and other refunds to address the liquidity issue, to check large scale influx of imported yarn and fabrics in the country to save the domestic industry. Free Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements be reviewed and revisited in such a way that the exports of Pakistani goods to those countries be increased.
It was also suggested that the new Prime Minster as well as the Minister of Commerce and Textiles should avail the opportunity of being at the helm of affairs and to remain engaged with APTMA for providing workable to solve the problems being faced by the Textile Industry of Pakistan.
Source: Daily Times
