The Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) has welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to formally recognise top exporters, calling it a strong vote of confidence in Pakistan’s export sector and a clear signal of the government’s commitment to performance, compliance and global competitiveness.
Key Highlights
- Exporter Recognition:
PTC praised the Prime Minister, Deputy PM & Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan for honouring leading exporters, noting that the move comes at a critical time of macroeconomic constraint under the IMF programme. - ERF Rate Reduction Welcomed:
The Council particularly lauded the reduction in Export Refinance Facility (ERF) rates, highlighting that it was achieved without fiscal cost.- A 1% cut in the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) released over Rs300 billion in banking liquidity.
- This enabled banks to absorb a 300-basis-point ERF rate cut while preserving financial stability.
- PTC credited SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad and his team for sound monetary design and coordination.
- Industrial Power Tariff Reform:
The decision to remove cross-subsidies from industrial electricity tariffs was termed a long-overdue structural correction that had unfairly penalised export-oriented industries. - India–EU FTA: “No Need for Panic”
Addressing concerns over the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, PTC Chairman Fawad Anwar cautioned against alarmism.- He noted that while competition will intensify, Pakistan’s value-added textile and apparel exporters remain well positioned due to quality, compliance, sustainability credentials and strong buyer relationships.
- “Competitiveness, not fear, should guide policy,” he stressed.
PTC’s Reform Priorities Going Forward
The Council called for a coherent, long-term export strategy focused on:
- Continued GSP Plus access through credible compliance
- Regionally competitive taxation and energy pricing
- Investment-linked tax incentives
- A stable, market-aligned real effective exchange rate
- Duty-free access to export inputs
- Removal of bureaucratic and procedural bottlenecks
Bottom Line
PTC views the recent measures as signaling a shift toward targeted, export-led growth in Pakistan’s post-stabilisation phase and reaffirms its commitment to working with the government to convert macroeconomic stability into sustained exports, job creation, and higher foreign exchange earnings.
