LAHORE: A kind of dullness prevailed on the cotton market on Monday, whereas, the Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 19400 per maund.
Cotton Analyst Nasseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder said that price of Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 7000 to Rs 8600. Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 15500 to Rs 20,000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 16500 to Rs 20,000 per maund. He told that 1200 bales of Rahim Yar Khan were sold at Rs 19500 per maund.
Pakistan’s textile sector is bringing cheer to its flailing economy, with exports set to swell to a record after gaining an edge over South Asian rivals during the pandemic.
Textile exports are poised to surge 40 percent from a year earlier to a record $21 billion in the 12 months ending June, according to Abdul Razak Dawood, commerce adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister. Dawood predicted that figure would expand to $26 billion in the next fiscal year, surpassing the nation’s total exports last year, he said.
The textiles industry — which supplies everything from denim jeans to towels for buyers in the U.S. and Europe — is one of the country’s few economic bright spots. Textiles amount to about 6 percent of Pakistan’s total exports and the nation allowed its factories to open ahead of India and Bangladesh when the pandemic first emerged in 2020, drawing orders from global brands including Target Corp. and Hanesbrands Inc.
“A lot of orders actually were shifted from Bangladesh and India to Pakistan” during the pandemic, said Dawood in an interview at his Islamabad office. “The other good thing that’s happening is we are now becoming competitive with Bangladesh. Three, four years ago, Bangladesh was really beating us.”
Meanwhile, value-added textiles export industries are shocked and totally disappointed with the government for utter silence, indecisiveness and no response to the repeated appeals and press releases to rescue the Karachi industries which have been deprived of gas/RLNG for more than 100 days and the export production has become almost nil in the wake of zero or reduced supply of gas for 19 hours in a day.
The Government’s promises and commitment to assure supply of gas to export industries appears to be an eyewash and mere lip-service. The value-added textile exporters are highly upset as to why this sheer discrimination is being done alone with Karachi which is the industrial and textile hub of Pakistan that generates 68 percent revenue for the national exchequer, contributes to 54 percent in total national exports and 52 percent in textile exports? The value-added textile export industries are saddened over such unwelcoming behaviour of the Federal Government who has widely shut eyes and ears and kept silence over the repeated SOS calls, appeals and press releases for the last three months. Due to gas outages exporters are perturbed and their image is distorted. If current export commitments are not fulfilled on time the buyers will not place new orders.
Why should the industries of Karachi alone bear the brunt of gas shortage? Prime Minister of Pakistan is appealed to take immediate notice of the highly aggravated situation as Karachi is the economic and textile hub of Pakistan and driving force of the national economy. This was jointly stated by Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum & Chief Coordinator, Value-Added Textile Forum, Abdul Rehman, Zonal Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA), Sheikh Shafiq Jhokwala, Chairman, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA), Kamran Chandna, Chairman, Pakistan Knitwear & Sweaters Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Aitzaz Ahmed Japanwala, Chairman, Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Kashif Mehtab Chawla, Chairman, Towel Manufacturers Association, Asif Javed, Chairman, Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association & Asif Riaz Tata, Chairman, Pakistan Denim Manufacturer & Exporters Association in statement to press and media. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 263 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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