Textile industry worried over suspension of gas supply

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Ali Pervaiz has expressed serious concern over suspension of the supply of system gas quota of 2-days per week to Punjab industries from 7^th of December 2017.

e added Government had extended this quota last year in order to reduce the cost of doing business and somewhat address the grave issue of inter-provincialdisparity as industries in KPK / Sindh continue to be supplied system gas for 7 days a week.He said the textile industry is predominantly located in Punjab where total consumption of gas, including system and RLNG, is not more than 300 MMCFD.

The Punjab industry was getting just 28 percent system gas under the quota and balance 72 percent requirement was met through more expensive imported RLNG. Complete suspension of system gas supplies has left Punjab industry to rely solely onmore expensive RLNG, which is being supplied at nearly Rs1,100 per MMBTU against Rs600 of system gas without GIDC. He added price of RLNG is almost double than that of system gas and Punjabindustry can neither survive nor prosper with consumption of such a high priced fuel.

He stressed on the need for availability of regionally competitive as well as domestically uniformly priced energy sourcefor industries throughout Pakistan to meet daunting external account challenges.Chairman APTMA Punjab has appealed to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to ensure sustainable and affordable energy supply for the textile industry in Punjab.

Further delay in attending this problem would not only reverse that hard won growth in exports achieved in last 4-months with amended PM Export Package but it would also lead to capacity closure across Punjab. Estimates already suggest impairment of 30% in textile industry which is valued at over $4 Bln per annum.