With one voice, over 10 different textile bodies on Thursday reiterated the call for resolving the longstanding issues of non-payment of R&D support fund and sales tax, soaring cost of production, rising energy tariffs and load shedding, high export refinance, different government levies on import and absence of long-term policies.
Representatives of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Pakistan Yarn Merchant Association, Pakistan Silk Mills Association, Pakistan Cloth Merchant Association, Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Association, Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, Pakistan Knitwear and Sweater Exporters Association, etc, attended the seminar "National Strategy for Textile Industry: Issues and Recommendations" organised by PHMA at its main-office.
Naqi Bari opined on behalf of the representatives of Pakistan Bed-wear Exporters Association, who could not appear for some reasons. Saleem Parekh, Rafiq Godil, Khawaja Usman, Yaseen Siddiq, Nisar Shekhani, Khuram Maqbool, Yaqoob Bawai and others spoke on the issues.
The seminar is aimed to collect recommendations to help the government evolve a national strategy for textile sector to bail out the important industry from the prevailing crisis, which have consequently put adverse impact on the national economy, besides raising unemployment rate, said Jawed Bilwani Central Chairman of PHMA in his inaugural comments.
Federal Minister for Textile Rana Mohammad Farooq Saeed Khan as a chief guest and advisor to chief minister Sindh on investment M. Zubair Motiwala were also present on the occasion. Highlighting the different problems being confronted by the industry, they urged the government to revisit its policy on R&D support programme particularly the huge claims of billion of rupees still pending with state bank of Pakistan should be entertained immediately.
They said the government has not refunded sales tax of 1 per cent to the apparel sector exporters, saying the sector is undergoing a serious downturn. They added that the new proposal of the sales tax changing into value-added tax (VAT) will bear the same results as the sales tax itself. They termed continuation of R&D support programme indispensable to pull out the whole textile industry from crisis.
They demanded of the government to fix the utility tariffs for industries for a period of minimum two years and reduce rate of export refinance to 3 per cent. Similarly, the long term finance should be allowed for the import of five years old machinery, they recommended.
About the Export Processing Units (EPU) status, they said that although the previous government had announced in the trade policy to give it to all exporting units, its full-fledged implantation has yet to take place, urging the present government to look into the matter. They suggested that the government should make long-term policies for apparel sector, adding that the high cost of business for increasing gas and electricity tariffs has impeded the country's export's growth.
There was also a voice for much needed export refinance facility to spinning and weaving sectors, they said that the sectors did not so far have any long term finance, and the existing 10 per cent facility is almost obtainable after a difficult procedure. The spinning and weaving sector should also be given R&D support fund like other textile sectors, they added.
Loan rescheduling was also demanded from the government for at least two years so that the dying units could at least rejuvenate, otherwise the textile will go nosedive due to increasing financial problems, they feared. They recommended that the government should assign efficient commercial consular in the developed countries to introduce "Made in Pakistan" brand in the world market, as India has done effectively.
Gas being given as cross subsidy to fertiliser sector at the expense of textile sector should be withdrawn, and such facilities should be given to the sectors which earn foreign exchanges for national exchequer, they maintained. Zubair Motiwala termed the high cost of production as "mother of all problems", saying that if the government does not have a clause in its policy for providing R&D support fund to textile sector, there are still other ways to overcome financial problems.
As, the government can cut gas and electricity tariffs along with export refinance rate to industries to enable it grow fast. He regretted that the present day textile problems are the same that were in the past because the government did not show any interest to resolve them. He recalled the contemptuous attitude of the former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz towards, saying he had called textile exporters "rent seekers".
"We are not rent seekers," he said, adding that EU has erected non-tariff barriers for the Pakistani products as anti-dumping duty. He deplored that the country has no national strategy for textile sector, saying there are many books written on each country's textile sector and showed one of Bangladesh and other Indian governments written books on their respective textile sectors.
Regarding the IMF loan conditions, Motiwala said the Fund's harsh terms are only meant to secure its loans returns. He called upon the government to say the IMF to stop ruining Pakistan economy. He demanded of the government to give a special status to the textile sector and set different gas and electricity tariffs for it.
Human resource development of the local industry is necessary, he said that Pakistani seven workers are doing the same job that the one German worker and four Turk workers do. Federal Textile Minister Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan assured the representatives of all textile bodies that he would plead their case in the government's quarters for their early resolution.
About the payment of R&D claims till June 30, 2008 which are still pending with SBP, he said all will be discharged shortly, as the government has already approved them. He said that he was in total agreement with all the issues highlighted during the seminar by the various speakers, saying they are genuine.
He said that the fertiliser sector which have never made the country become self-sufficient in fertiliser despite having huge subsidies, whereas the national exchequer earner textile sector has been outrightly deprived of its due rights.
He said that decision on the import of five years old machinery has been taken and it will soon be announced. He urged APTMA for providing seeds to growers for good cotton crop, saying the sugar mills have done it in his constituency and now there are eight sugar mills in an area of cotton producers.
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