Pakistan may consider a hefty package of subsidies on energy for the textile sector to help it compete with regional countries after slashing the prices of petroleum products.
The decision is expected during a meeting between the minister and textile exporters on Thursday, said Pakistan Textile Exporters Association’s (PTEA) patron-in-chief Khurram Mukhtar. “Finance Minister Ishaq Dar called PTEA for a meeting concerning energy tariff,” he said.
In the budget for fiscal year 2022-23, the government has set aside Rs20 billion as subsidy on electricity for the export sector and another Rs40bn on gas supply to the industrial sector.
A regionally competitive tariff was given to the textile sector in December 2015, he said, adding that the PTEA had pleaded the case for the entire textile value chain and accordingly the then government recommended $1.20 per mmBtu subsidy on gas which was later extended to all the exports sector.
Following the devastating monsoon rain hitting cotton areas, the PTEA has approached the federal government, asking the latter to allow the import of cotton from India via the Wagah border to meet the rising export orders.
In the first two months of the current fiscal year, the textile group posted a paltry growth of 4.18pc compared to the same period a year ago. In August, the growth of the textile group was over 7pc, indicating hopes for a revival of exports from the country.
