The government has taken prudent and effective measures to help textile sector overcome its problems. Speaking at the annual dinner of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) here on Thursday, Federal Minister for Textile Industry Chaudhry Mushtaq Ali Cheema.
He said that Pakistan was exporting only raw cotton in 1960s "We started spinning sector in '70s, but we could only fulfil our domestic needs", he said and added that spinning sector witnessed boom in '80s. Similarly, processing sector developed in '90s and played a major role in almost doubling the textile exports, he said.
About textile sector's problems, Minister said that world has become a global village and a new era of competition started as quotas were phased out. "We were not fully prepared to face these post-quota challenges", he said. However, he appreciated the exporters of Faisalabad and said that they played an instrumental role in creating a new Ministry of Textile Industry to exclusively and readily look into its affairs. He said that it also helped Government to immediately understand the problems and take necessary measures to resolve it at the earliest. Mushtaq Cheema said that Textile Sector has survived because of timely steps taken by the government.
He said that government was still in contact with all the stakeholders and making efforts to help the industry resolve its problems. About Research and Development (R&D) Facility, he said that it would also be given to the commercial exporters. "Textile Ministry has forwarded draft SRO in this respect to the Law Ministry", he said and assured that it would be effective from July 1 next year.
He also mentioned cut in bank's mark-up rates and export refinance and added that textile strategy sub-committee constituted by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would visit Faisalabad next week to discuss short term measures to restore the dynamism in Textile sector.
Regarding the demands of the textile processors, Cheema said that he wanted that processing industry should work round the clock but not at the cost of environment or public inconvenience. He said that industrial effluent should not come on roads and streets.
City District Nazim Rana Zahid Tauseef announced to cut down the compulsory weekly closure of processing units from 36 to 24 hours and said that Punjab Government has been setting up a Mega Industrial City over 4500 acres of land along Motorway M-3.
It would have all basic facilities and help industrialists to fulfil the social compliance's. He urged them to shift their units from congested residential areas to this Industrial City within next 12 to 18 months.
CE, Fesco Brigadier Tariq Rasool (Retd) said that Fesco was purchasing surplus electricity from private power houses to meet the energy needs of local industry. "We are providing this costly electricity at cheaper rates to the local industry", he added. He also stressed the need for the energy efficient practices and said that it would not only help industrialists to cut down their production cost but also provide an opportunity to Fesco to supply this energy to other industrial units. Later Chaudhry Mushtaq Ali Cheema distributed shields among the retiring and newly elected office bearers of the Association.
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