Federal Minister for Textile Abbas Khan Afridi during his visit to Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) on Wednesday has said that government would extend full support and assistance for strengthening textile sector. "We are working on war footing to bridge the huge gap between demand and supply and a comprehensive strategy to overcome energy crisis," he said.
He assured that Textile Ministry will make all-out efforts for immediate payment of pending refund claims of textile exporters to ease their financial stress. Earlier, PTEA Chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mahmood welcomed the Minister and highlighted the core functions of PTEA. He termed GSP Plus scheme as a milestone achievement of the PML-N government.
He termed high cost of production as the core issue of textile exporters as exports are heavily burdened with federal and provincial taxes while regional countries are providing lot of subsidies and incentives to its textile sector to remain competitive in international market. He termed energy crisis a major hurdle in export promotion as uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity is essential for industrial survival.
He stressed for need of diversification of export products and export destinations. Pakistani textile exports have been traditionally concentrating on European and American markets but now it is need of hour to explore new markets through expressive marketing and Pakistani foreign missions should play their due role in this regard.
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