Textile exports likely to decline sharply

Export orders for the country's value-added textile have begun to scale down, which exporters fear will dip by 30 percent this fiscal year, because of what they termed gas and power shortages and inefficient policies of the government.
"At least $500 million decline is likely in the export of value-added textile during January-June 2012 period as signs of the global buyers' distrust on Pakistani exporters are now visible," Chief Co-ordinator, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (Prgmea), Ijaz Khokhar said on Thursday.
He said that Pakistan's overall textile exports were likely to hover between $10 billion and $11 billion this fiscal year, which stood at $15 billion last fiscal with a big fall of $4 billion. "It shows how difficult would be the next three years for Pakistan's manufacturing sector to sustain expected low global attention," he observed.
Khokhar said global buyers, despite Pakistan's offer of low price compared to Bangladesh and China, were still uninterested in placing orders because of the persistent delays in export shipments to EU and US, which had created distrust.
"Gas and electricity shortages were the key factors behind delay in export shipments to EU and US ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations," he said. Criticising the government, he said that the federal commerce and textile ministries had showed no interest in supporting the falling textile exports as both of the ministers failed to evolve plans to help the manufacturing sector grow amid global economic slump and local political challenges.
Khokhar said the decline in exports would also have a negative impact on tax collection at the end of the current fiscal year, besides the declining trend could trigger further unemployment. "The value-added textile sector will be the most affected one to suffer from the global buying decline," he added.
He said that the local exporters were more concerned about maintaining the existing global buyers on their export list and had nothing to do with the government policy of signing more FTAs or PTAs. "The government should first help the local industry to fulfil the international commitments it has already made instead of signing FTAs or PTAs which will never benefit the manufacturing sector unless power and gas are provided," he observed.