KARACHI: Federal Minister for Textile Industry Abbas Khan Afridi said on Thursday that textile industry will be offered incentives in the Budget 2014-15 to help create job opportunities.
He stated this while addressing the members of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) here during his visit to PHMA office along with members of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Textile.
The minister said that value-added textile sector can play an important role in creating new employment opportunities in the country.
He said that the government wants to remove obstacles in the development of this sector and it will be provided reasonable incentives.
About export development fund, he said that the funds collected on this account from the textile industry should be transferred to the Textile Ministry to spend them on research and development projects.
Abbas Afridi observed that the rising labour cost in Bangladesh, India and other countries will benefit Pakistan, adding that textile sector needs to devise plans in this regard.
The minister pointed out that Pakistan's value-added textile sector is dealing in only 13 items, while worldover this figure is 900 items.
He stressed the need to introduce more products to access new markets and increase exports, adding that efforts will be made to promote export of value-added products instead of raw material to help create job opportunities and increase foreign exchange.
The minister informed that the Textile Ministry, Finance Ministry and FBR are constantly in contact with the Trade Ministry and efforts are underway to get special incentives introduced for textile sector in the next year's budget.
Abbas Afridi said that steps are also being taken to save the people associated with textile industry from bankruptcy and for this purpose a policy is being drawn with the State Bank of Pakistan and commercial banks to reschedule loans.
MNA Jamshed Dasti, former president of KCCI Zubair Motiwala, PHMA's chief coordinator Javed, and Rafiq Godel also spoke.
Secretary Textiles Rukhsana Shah, Rashid Aziz, Kamran, Rana Mushtaq, among others, were present.
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