Page 20 - TEXtalks. November- December 2023

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APTMA expressed deep

concern over the dismal state

of the power sector

ATPMA also expressed gratitude to the Federal Minister for Energy, Mr. Muhammad Ali. He has taken
cognizance of the high power tariffs and their negative fallouts. He has taken up the task of restructuring
power tariffs that have prompted a country-wide wave of deindustrialization. Furthermore, APTMA urged him
to expedite the reform process, considering the gravity of the situation.

Similarly, power consumption for the first 20 days of December 2023 has declined by 26% year-on-year for
industrial consumers and by 8% for domestic consumers on the LESCO network, driven by a decline in
high-end domestic consumption.

This dramatic decline in power consumption is the direct result of irrational decision-making in the power
division that has pushed power tariffs to levels where neither industrial nor residential consumers can
sustain their consumption levels, and demand for power is becoming increasingly elastic to prices.

In this regard, we recognize the Federal Minister for Energy, Muhammad Ali’s ongoing efforts to resolve this
situation. According to a recent report in The Newsii, the Minister is aware of the dangerous dynamics in the
power sector and the severe implications this poses for the overall economy. He is accepting of the fact that
exports cannot thrive with cross subsidies and other inefficiencies embedded in power tariffs for
export-oriented firms and that these components must be rationalized to bring power tariffs down to a
regionally competitive level of 9-10 cents/kWh where Pakistan’s exports are competitive in
international markets.

Chinese PSF imports soar

significantly by 24.6% in November

Chinese polyester staple fibre (PSF) exports totaled 106,200 tons in November, up a significant 24.6 percent
over the same month of 2022. “In the same month, Chinese imports of PSF touched 11,100 tons, rising by a
massive 46.3 percent year over year,” media reports quoting the Chinese customs department stated.

Between January and November, PSF exports from China stood at 1.12 million tons, up 22.8 percent over a
year ago. Meanwhile, imports in the first eleven months of the current year reached 91,550 tons, growing by
10 percent year over year.

Chinese PSF imports from Southeast Asian countries between January and November totaled 46,658 tons
and accounted for 44.7 percent of overall PSF imports.

November/December 2023