A leading textile exporter has urged the government to keep a close watch on the export of yarn and gray cloth to India, causing 10 to 12 percent increase in the prices of raw material in the local market. Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association's former Chairman Ghulam Ahmed Ismail said on Friday that the export of textile's raw material to India, where it was converted into value-added products for export, thus strengthening the hands of our competitor in the world market.
He regretted that the raw material was being exported to India at the cost of the local exporters, who needed fine quality yarn and gray cloth at reasonable prices for manufacturing fabrics, bed linen, garments towels etc.
The exporters' cost of production in Pakistan had increased due to frequent raise in the petroleum prices and expensive utilities as compared to China, where water and electricity was free for the export-oriented industries, he said.
On the contrary, the textile industry sources said that Pakistan's garment industry was small and under-capitalised, and did not have the production facilities to convert all the yarn and gray cloth produced in the country.
Keeping in view the local garment producers' limited capacity, the producers of yarn and gray cloth had no other choice but to export their products to India, which had large garment industry and was capable to cater to the increasing world demand, he said.
He also referred to the refusal of the textile mills to book orders for manufacturing the fine quality fabrics on modern air jet looms, which had a great demand in the United States and Europe, although the fabric exporters, having plenty of export orders, were unable to meet their commitment.