Fabrics and bed-linen exporters have demanded of the government to buttress aggressive marketing and diversification efforts of exporters to maintain the export tempo which has suffered serious setback resulting from external tariff barriers and domestic productivity cost escalation. Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) Chairman Fiaq Jawed talking to journalists after a meeting of the Association executive members here on Wednesday, said that the bed-linen and fabric sectors were under great stress in the post-textile quota phase out period as they were confronted with a twin menace of external tariff protection walls and domestic escalatory productivity costs.
He pointed out that bed-linen and fabric exporters were severely handicapped vis-à-vis their main rivals in European market as their buyers have to pay extra import levies of 13 percent anti-dumping on imports from Pakistan, while another 12 percent GSP duties have to be paid as compared to Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan goods, which are exempt from GSP levies. With such a high margin of initial handicap, how can the Pakistani exporters compete in fiercely competitive free international trade market, he quipped.
Faiq Jawed pointed out that both China and India textile exports were buttressed by adequate incentives and facilities to keep the exports competitive in the international market. These incentives and facilities enabled the exporters to secure more orders and expand country's exports, whereas Pak exporters are lacking this necessary push from the government.
The PTEA chief said that bed linen was the strongest export item of the country, and it enjoyed highest reputation all over the world in quality as well as price, and hence we enjoyed a certain edge over our rivals. Similarly, the fabrics and made-ups sector was also expanding and dominating international markets. However, the higher production cost and the rise in inputs were offsetting the advantage hitherto enjoyed by exporters, he added.
Faiq Jawed said that textile exporters had made huge investments on modernisation of machinery in their industrial units over the last three years to prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the new world trade order and were hopeful of capturing the world markets in a big way, but all their efforts have been shackled by costlier inputs and external tariff barriers, he lamented.
He urged the prime minister and other relevant quarters to take cognisance of the gravity of situation and save the bed linen and fabric sector from impending disaster through timely intervention, providing necessary incentives and facilities to these important sectors which are fetching 30 percent of foreign exchange earnings for the country.
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