The Standing Committee on Textile Industry Wednesday constituted a sub-committee to address the issues facing the textile sector. The standing committee met under the chairmanship of Member National Assembly (MNA) Khawaja Ghulam Rasool Koreja at the conference room of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA), Karachi to discuss the issues being faced by the textile sector.
The committee members including MNA Sardar Muhammad Shafqat Hayat Khan, Rana Umer Nazir Khan, Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, Abdul Rashid Godil and Romina Khurshid Alam were present in the meeting. Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chief Coordinator, Value Added Textile Association and Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum briefed the Standing Committee on Textile Industry and highlighted the issues and problems faced by the value added textile sector which contributed $11.43 billion (46 percent of total exports and 85 percent of total textile export) and generates 42 percent of the total employment included female workers.
He informed the meeting that in 1990, export of Pakistan stood at $4.9 billion, Bangladesh $1.6 billion and India $16.6 billion and in 2015 the export of Pakistan stood at $23.8 billion with 385 percent growth; Bangladesh $30.1 billion with 1,781 percent surge and India's exports are $310.3 with 1,769 percent growth. Bilwani said that in 2015 cotton production stood at 9.3 million bales which shows a decrease of 33.51 percent compared to last year's production of 13.98 million bales. Therefore, to support cotton growers, the government should provide free cotton seeds to growers and purchase cotton from growers at the international price. This will surely result much better yield and production, he added.
"We clearly warned the government during a meeting of budgets that vital exports will plunge approximately 20 percent further if the draconian sales tax imposed on the exports is not withdrawn and if cost of doing business is not brought at par with regional competitors," he added. Now it has been proved that during July to December 2015-16 despite grant of GSP, total exports have declined 14.46 percent and textile exports 9 percent.
The standing committee agreed with the viewpoint of the value added textile sector and also seconded the proposals floated by the chairman of the value added textile association. Bilwani proposed "No payment no refund" system as prevailed prior to March 2013 for exports to save futile exercise wasting precious time of the FBR as well as exporters. In addition, tariff of power and gas should be brought down at par with regional competitors declaring textile sector as separate head of account in tariff structure, he added.
He suggested that top priority given to export-oriented industries in the supply of all utilities 24/7 365 days to run the industries without the least interruption, besides immediate refund of all outstanding claims of sales tax, Drawback on Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) and customs rebate, etc.
Bilwani demanded that customs rebate should be refunded along with the export proceed realisation and refunds of sales tax on packing material be decided on a fix percentage basis and be refunded along with export proceed realisation. The committee constituted the sub-committee to resolve the issues being faced by textile sector. The sub-committee will discuss the matters of value added textile associations. Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari will be the convener of the sub-committee, while Romina Khurshid Alam, Malik Shakir Bashir Awan and Abdul Rashid Godil will be its members.
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