Federal Minister for Textile Industry, Chauudhry Mushtaq Ali Cheema has said the first textile policy for the next five years will be announced in a couple of weeks. The policy would focus on long-term export plan and would include measures for betterment of the all segments of the textile sector.
Talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association (APCPA), led by Khalid Mehmood Cheema, Chairman and Muhammad Akram Ghouri, Vice Chairman, Minister said that government is actively taking measures for up-gradation of power looms industry and prepared a plan to transfer the latest technology to its skilled workers.
Mushtaq Cheema said that the current scenario posses challenges firstly to sustain its global positioning and secondly to increase its market share by both increase in volume and increase in unit values.
The unit value can be increased only through marked improvement in quality, market tie-up, image building and change in business philosophy. This requires up-gradation in resource development both in manufacturing and marketing. The focus should be on R & D, technical innovation, product development on one hand and brand & market development on other with the goal of moving up in the global textile value chain, he added.
Mushtaq Cheema said that the performance of textile industry during the last five years has been satisfactory. The market was responsive, the government''s policy was supportive and inputs were viable. The industry made profits and re-invested in new machinery for balancing, modernising, and restructuring (BMR) and expansion. The industry made an investment of approx. $6 billion during the period 1999-2006.
He said that the major investment has been made in spinning, weaving, Textile Processing and making up sectors. Approximately, 454,000 new direct jobs have been created and industry has been able to make increase production and exports.
Textile Minister said power-looms owners should not hesitate to seek relevant ministry''s help for solution of problems, and they should focus on projects related to infrastructure and human resource development. There are no bureaucratic ways at the ministry of textiles and industrialists have direct and easy access to the ministry, so textile industrialists should take full advantage of this, he added.
Mushtaq Cheema said that Government is also considering a proposal to establish weaving city near M-3. The Ministry of Textile is striving hard to make high quality cotton available and developing the entire textile value chain at par with international best practices, expanding the textile sector to produce value-added garments along with new innovative products, developing a state of the art infrastructure, augmenting investment in human resource management, enlarging textiles and clothing exporters and manufacturers, he added.
Muhammad Akram Ghouri, Vice Chairman, APCPA said that power looms Sector suffers from various structural problems resulting in slow growth rate of investment, output and exports. Some of these are lack of diversification and technical inefficiencies, poor quality of products and low levels of RD activities, making Pakistani cloth expensive in the world market.
However, he appreciated the Chaudhry Mushataq Ali Cheema efforts for textile sector. Chaudhry Abdul Haq, Rana Ikhlaq Ahmad and Chauudhry Javed Sadiq Kahloon ex- chairmen APCPA, Mian Muhammad Latif, Chairman FIEDMC and Mian Zahid Aslam, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association were also present on the occasion.
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