LAHORE: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir has said that sustained supply of gas/RLNG [Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas) has helped maintain the momentum of enhanced exports, as currently the textile industry is working at its full capacity.

Talking to the media here on Tuesday, he said that export orders for the next six months had been received and despite COVID-19 pandemic, the overall exports of the country had registered a growth of more than 18 per cent in December 2020, compared to the corresponding period of the last year.

Earlier, in November 2020, the textile exports had surged by nine per cent as compared to November 2019, he added.

Rahim Nasir said, textile sector is currently in the mode of rapid expansion to cater to increased orders and demands.

He said it was essential to sustain the momentum, which was being facilitated by the upcoming textile policy.

He said there had been isolated cases of low pressure of gas and supply problems on mixed feeders and APTMA has taken up these issues with the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) management, which assured the Association of all-possible assistance to remove the bottlenecks.

In particular, he said, APTMA Northern Zone appreciates the role of Ministry of Petroleum and the management of SNGPL in ensuring that the export sectors were provided gas/ RLNG at sustained pressures despite the huge surge in demand and diminished domestic production this winter.

He expressed the hope that Syed Ali Javaid Hamdani, the new managing director of SNGPL would personally ensure uninterrupted supply of gas at normal pressure to the export industry to enable it in creation of additional jobs, attracting new investment and uplifting exports of the country.