Textile machinery imports down 34 percent

Importers and industrialists are reluctant to import textile machinery due to non-announcement of a proposed textile package by the government. This was primarily aimed to fix the textile machinery import at zero-rating duty, bringing about the decline by 34 percent in the textile-related machinery during July-February of the current financial year.
They are of the view that since the inception of the current fiscal year, the textile machinery import has been going down, despite the government's efforts for the aggrandising the textile sector growth, the machinery import could not move up.
Official statistics show that country's textile machinery imports stood at $356.580 million during the first eight months (July-February) of current fiscal year against $536.034 million imports during the same period of the last fiscal year, depicting a decline of 33 percent or $179.454 million during July-February 2007.
Importers said that a several industrialists have asked us to wait till government announces its proposed policy pertaining to the textile package with a view to allow textile machinery import at zero rate.
"We are expecting huge demand by the industrialists for import of textile machinery, in case the proposed package is announced by the next month," they hoped. During February 2007 Pakistan has imported textile machinery of $35.187 million as compared to $51.725 million during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year 2005-06, which shows a decrease of 32 percent or $16.538 million only in one month (February 2007).
Imports of textile machinery during February 2007 against January 2007 also have gone down by 7 percent. Textile machinery imports have declined by $3.366 million during February 2007 as compared to January, during the January 2007 Pakistan's machinery imports stood at $38.553 million.
Importers said that the 'high cost of business' has dragged the country's textile industry into severe crisis, adding that industrialists are waiting for relief from government to salvage the industry. New investment in the textile sector has also plunged and now textile industrialists are concentrating on modification of their existing plants to meet the production demands set by the international buyers, they added.