COVID-19: APTMA urges government to save textile industry from negative impact

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has demanded the government to take drastic measures to save export oriented textile industry from the negative economic impact of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as since its outbreak in mid-December 2019, has caused turmoil in the world's second-largest economy, China, with a trickle-down effect on nearly all big economies including those of the European Union, United States, Japan and South Korea.
Zahid Mazhar Chairman APTMA Sindh-Balochistan Region has stressed the need for taking immediate steps by the government to address the major issues of the industry and exporters specially the liquidity problem otherwise all the measures taken by them for reduction in current account deficit would go in vein.
He demanded the government to release the backlog of sales tax refunds including deferred sales tax refund and payment of outstanding DDTO/DLTL as this is the money that belongs to the business and should speedily be returned to help uninterrupted operation of the industry enabling to sustain employment and exports.
He said that immediate payment of all refund and rebates is necessary due to delay in receipt of payment from domestic as well as international buyers in addition to cancellation of export orders even from big organisations and large scale buying houses and drastic slowdown in domestic market.
Chairman APTMA Sindh-Balochistan Region said that the present situation needs special attention of the government to address problems of the trade and industry at least for the period the recession would sustain due to coronavirus.
He demanded the government to restore SRO 1125(I)/2011 dated 31st December 2011 to provide relief to the five export oriented industries so that they may survive, play their role in the economic development of the country and earn much needed foreign exchange which is the need of the hour.
Commenting on reduction in discount rate by 75 basis points by State Bank of Pakistan, he said that it is too little and too late. He said that the discount rate in the regional competing countries lies between 4 percent to 8 percent, while discount rate has been reduced by United States of America to zero percent, Britain to 0.25 percent in sharp contrast with the present discount rate in Pakistan which is 12.5 percent.
In this scenario, he said that, how can Pakistani exporters compete with regional competitors in the international arena. He demanded Governor State Bank to further reduce discount rate by another 300 basis points so that Pakistani exporters may compete with their regional competitors. In addition to the above government should also issue directives to the banks to liberally extend additional lines of working capital to spinners in order to survive and avoid immediate closure of spinning mills.
Government should also help the textile spinning industry by freezing utility bills both gas electricity for at least two months so that the industry may operate without any interruption in these difficult times and also to avoid mass unemployment of the workers, he demanded.