Export orders of knitted shirts (Cat-338) from the US were being cancelled by the buyers because Pakistan has been unable to meet delivery schedules due to textile quota problems. Pakistan Hosiery Manufactures Association (North Zone) Chairman Adil Butt expressed these views here on Wednesday. He said even airlifting of shipments, as promised by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), were not certain of timely boarding as no firm information is available to the exporters who find themselves helpless and stranded.
On the other hand, EPB seems all out in confrontation instead of resolving the problems of exporters of knitwear by issuing false clarifications in the press. Solution still lies in reverting back to the decisions made by the commerce minister in the meeting of November 24.
He said that arrangements being done in the EPB were regardless of time schedule, which was so vital in the international trade. If timely arrangements are not ensured, we would be big losers, he added.
"Once the textile quota mismanagement and the ultimate fiasco was visible, instead of getting the scattered things arranged in a professional way, the EPB's steps were likely to further hurt the export of knitwear industry. In case quota problems were not resolved properly, exporters would lose established buyers in addition to the loss of millions of dollars from export earnings," he said.
Adil expressed apprehensions of the industry that was worried about satisfactory airlifting of the 2004 consignments in first 20 days of January 2005 because PIA does not possess capacity and capability to handle 4,000,000kg cargo in such short time. Therefore, arrangements for this purpose should be left with the exporters themselves and the mechanism for payment of freight by the EPB should be devised without any further loss of time, he added.
"Industry sources have also apprehensions that the calculation of shippable quantity in Cat. 338 was yet doubtful because the US custom Web site was still showing a cushion of about 8 percent quantity and the knitwear sector might happen to be further loser if the apprehensions happen to prove true," he claimed.
He demanded that fair play be ensured at the EPB, otherwise a large number of industrial units would close down leading to further unemployment in the country.