Unfriendly socio-economic environment: PTEA seeks government's immediate Intervention

Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has sought government's immediate intervention as textile industry has lost its viability against the regional competitors; our textile exports are at a comparative disadvantage in respect of production costs in the region.
Commenting over the textile crisis, Sohail Pasha, Chairman and Rizwan Riaz Saigal, Vice Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association said that due to inefficient and unfriendly socio-economic environment, the cost of doing business in Pakistan has escalated enormously due to intermittent raise in the prices of raw materials and production inputs rendering our exports uncompetitive in international market.
Taking advantage, rival countries are creeping into our traditional markets throwing the Pakistani textiles out, he lamented. Textile industry, particularly in Punjab is in grip of unprecedented crisis since many years and is struggling hard for its survival. Energy constraints have halted the industrial wheel and high production cost has disrupted the competitive edge of textile exports in international market. With the government support, regional rivals have accelerated export growth and have increased their market share in global textile trade.
Quoting the growth rate, he said that from 2008 to 2013, Bangladesh achieved 160 percent growth in textile exports. Similarly, China gained 97 percent and India 94 percent while Pakistan's textile export growth remained 22 percent in the same period. With such high growth, Bangladesh has increased its share in global textile trade from 1.09 percent in 2006 to 3.30 percent in 2013. Similarly, India increased from 3.4 percent to 4.70 percent, China from 27 percent to 37 percent while Pakistan has dropped from 2.20 percent to 1.80 percent. Terming energy shortage a major hurdle in export growth, the PTEA Chairman said that textile industry particularly in Punjab faced 27 percent gas load shedding in 2010, 41 percent in 2011, 46 percent in 2012, 66 percent in 2013, and 70 percent in 2014. Similarly, textile industry observed 37 days average power load shedding in 2011, 66 days in 2012, 96 days in 2013 and 122 in 2014. Due to conducive policies, heavy investment was made in terms of machinery in competing countries. During 2008-13 period, China added further 35.29 million spindles; while India added 14.20 million and Bangladesh added 1.98 million spindles in textile sector. In Pakistan, only 1.02 million spindles were added in five years.