Powerloom owners threaten protest

Powerloom owners have threatened that if the gradually increasing prices of yarn especially in polyester counts were not controlled effectively, and speculations over the yarn were not stopped immediately, they would be constrained to launch protest after a week. Addressing an emergency meeting of the All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association (APCPA), which was presided over by its Chairman Chaudhry Abdul Haq. Most of the speakers said that the empty and shallow sympathies of the government had driven powerloom owners to the brink of destruction.
Chaudhry Abdul Haq said in the past, the government was informed about the difficulties and problems being faced by the powerloom industry, but the present government instead of solving these problems and difficulties showed a beautiful dream of modernisation.
He said when the government imposed the ban on the export of gray cloth, the export of yarn was 25 million kilogrammes at that time. Now, 52 million kg yarn was being exported and the yarn was not available to powerloom industry and other ancillary industries, he added.
He said the powerloom industry used to earn $4.5 per kg as foreign exchange by exporting gray cloth, while, at present, the government was getting $2 per kg by exporting yarn. Such policy had absolutely no concern with value-addition, he remarked.
APCPA Vice Chairman Muhammad Akram Ghouri said that prices of polyester yarn had increased from Rs 4 to Rs 5 per Lb. The speculators were adding fuel to the fire and were engaged in profiteering by keeping illegal stock of yarn.
He said that business of speculation continued till late night, adding that owing to the market slump the rates of cloth were gradually decreasing and the powerloom owners were facing a great deal of difficulties due to heavy financial losses. Akram Ghouri demanded that the government should eliminate the curse of speculation from the yarn market and tackle with the elements with an iron hand, who were busy in selling fake brands of yarn.
He also demanded of the government that the finance limit approved for huge stock of yarn in the country should be withdrawn immediately so that the spinners could not be able to hold yarn stock for unlimited period for achieving their personal motives. He said that when there would be no opportunity for the spinners to stock the yarn, the raw material would be available to powerloom industry according to their requirements automatically.
Expressing their views, the other speakers said the government had only given a lollypop to the powerloom industry, which had paved the way for the destruction of big cottage industry of the country.
They said the employment of more than one million people of the country was directly or indirectly linked with the powerloom sector, adding not only the investment of billions of rupees was sinking, but the standard of poverty was also being raised by rendering thousands of workers and labourers unemployed.
The speakers gave an ultimatum to the government that if the proper steps were not taken to save the powerloom industry within a week, there would be a worst type of demonstration against the government.