The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Tuesday unfurled two-pronged strategy to bring the crisis-hit textile sector out of mire and suggested the government to allow import of all types of cotton through Wagah Border besides controlling the prices of polyester fibre as in the absence of these measures it is not possible to ensure supply chain.
LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Senior Vice President Yaqoob Tahir Izhar, Vice President Mubasher Sheikh and Chairman Textile sector Standing Committee Younas Sheikh after attending a meeting of Standing Committee on Textile Sector, said in a statement that the textile sector was the biggest industrial sector of the country having 60 per cent share in total exports, 27 per cent in industrial value-addition and 38 per cent in sector employment but had been suffering for the last many years due to wrong policies of the policymakers.
The LCCI office-bearers said that it is quite strange that the measures announced by the government in the federal budget could not be implemented so far due to which the textile-related exports had been registering a continuous decline.
They called for damage-control measures on war-footing as in today's globalise world it is very difficult for a country to regain some particular market that is once lost to any other country. They said that situation is so bad that even the oldest buyers of Pakistani merchandise are now making deals in China India and Bangladesh despite the fact the there is not much difference in cost of doing business in China, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Pakistan is lagging far behind only because of shortage of skilled labour but never ever, due importance was given to this particular area. They said that a number of textile units had already been closed while many more are heading towards closure.
The office-bearers urged the State Bank of Pakistan to announce long-tem finance facility for the spinning industry also that makes a major portion of the whole textile sector. They also stressed the government to arrange technical training of the youth so that the shortage of the skilled labour could be fulfilled.
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