China has agreed to set up industries in proposed garment cities in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi following an offer by Pakistan under Free Trade Agreement, sources told Business Recorder, here on Friday.
"This initiative on the part of the government is a step towards elimination of unemployment because these industries will not only help reduce joblessness but also train unskilled workforce," the sources added. The proposed garment cities will be established to improve the quality of our textile products in these zones, the sources said.
"It is true that free trade agreement can only be beneficial if China imports some of our textile products such as yarn because import of Chinese accessories to Pakistan will be absolutely duty-free under this agreement."
To make this agreement mutually beneficial, the government also intends to establish a committee to identify more areas of co-operation. The competition in the international market has intensified. "Chine has huge market and trade with it will bring good results and help boost our textile export market," the sources added.
According to the sources, China is the world's major exporter of textile products and its exports stood at $161 billion in 2007. The quality of export products of Pakistan is cheap as compared to Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. "We lack skilled labour, therefore, the cost of doing business here is much higher than any other country of South Asia," the sources said.
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