Power and gas loadshedding in peak season: textile exports suffer $2 billion loss

Pakistani Textile Exports have suffered a colossal loss of $2 billions on account of industrial shutdown for gas, electricity load-shedding and price hikes in raw material costs and overheads during current peak buying season of Christmas and New Year in Europe and America, said Mian Azhr Majeed, Chairman, Standing Committee on Exports of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and former Chairman, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) while talking to this Correspondent here Monday.
He said that Pakistan Government accepts dictation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) just for acquiring 1 billion dollars Loan on hard-terms but do not take concrete steps for boosting our Exports of 2 billion dollars during this peak season in Europe and America. This attitude of the rulers tantamouts to "Kill the Industry" and is injurious for country's exports and economy.
Regarding availability of the talented personnel in Pakistan, Azhr Majeed said that we have better talent in the country but they do not get opportunities like our contemporary India.
Commenting over the purchase of " Rental Power Plants" he said that Pakistan had imported a number of Rental Power Plants which remained inoperative for the last 2 years due to non-availability of gas although we had paid billions of Rupees from government exchequer as rent of these Plants. This is highly unjustifiable because the objective for which these Rental Power Plants were acquired could not be accomplished due to sheer negligence of the Ministry for Power and Water.
Mian Azhr Majeed lashed out at ill-conceived government policies and said that these unwise policies have spelled a devastating impact on our national economy and the worst-hit sector is the industrial and exports Sector which has potential to achieve the enshrined task to root out poverty and unemployment from the country.
Substantiating his point, he said that the government is providing maximum incentives to fertiliser sector because almost all fertiliser factories in the country are owned by ' blue-eyed persons' who are being politically favoured and despite the shortage of gas in the country, these fertiliser factories are being supplied the gas 10 time less than provided to industrial sector of the country. Citing the example, he said that a fertiliser factory having the strength of 100 workers is being supplied 100 MMCDF Gas whereas 130 Industrial Units of Faisalabad employing 5,00,000 workers are provided meager 130 MMCDF gas, one unit against one hundred. He revealed that due to unscheduled and excessive gas and load shedding in Faisalabad alone, most of the Industrial Units have been closed down thus rendering over 5 Lac workers jobless.
Responding to a question, the FPCCI Standing Committee Chairman on Exports said that Pakistan has lost about 2 million cotton bales due to devastating Floods in various parts of the country which has compelled us to import substantial cotton from abroad. He told that 16 million bales are required by our textile sector while the expected production of cotton would be around 11.5 million bales this time and hence, there would be a shortfall of 4.5 million bales and demanded the government to make appropriate arrangements for import of cotton quite ahead of the termination of cotton season so that our textile sector should not suffer.