Multiple difficulties and on-going energy crisis would plunge the upcountry export-oriented and labour intensive textile sector to disaster and closure of industrial units will bring joblessness causing industrial unrest and worsening law and order situation.
Talking to newsmen, Chaudhry Salamat Ali, former chairman and Chief Co-ordinator, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone said that industrial and textile policies could not yield positive results so far, because the tariff and fuel adjustment charges of electricity and gas bills are being gone high in every month plus continuing load-shedding.
He pointed out that rising cost of production is the core issue for textile industry is prevailing economic conditions and discontinuity of drawback refund would shed negative impact on exports and creating financial crunch. Drawback of local taxes was announced in the textile policy 2009-14 and many decisions taken in the textile policy 2009 has produced good results and exports of value-added textile goods have increased during last two years. But now Industrial production is decreasing and Investment in this sector flown away, he added.
Chaudhry Salamat Ali emphasised the need to utilise the national resources across the board in country interest and a National Export Council should be constituted giving representation to each textile association and chambers. He demanded that textile industry should be exempted from gas load shedding in the larger interest of national economy.
Commenting over the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) decision of continuing with three days a week gas curtailment for textile industry, he pointed out that the gas shedding for textile industry is already inhibiting its export target and growth potential.
It is fact that the textile exporters and manufacturers are unable to prepare export consignment timely and the foreign buyers are losing confidence on the Pakistani exporters. Gas prices in the last couple of years have been raised by 93 percent, as a result our products are becoming uncompetitive in the international market and stoppage of gas has further increased problems of the industrialists and a large number of people, whose livelihood is associated with the industries. He stressed that government should workout solution to tackle this problem because along with hurting productivity, a large number of daily wage workers are in deep trouble due to closure of industrial units.
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