The textile exporters have initiated a move for merger of associations dealing in the same product to face the challenges of the new trade scenario and to have a strong say in the powers of corridors to get their demands accepted. The idea was discussed at an informal meeting of textile exporters, held on Wednesday, and it was decided to convene a meeting of all associations belonging to a particular sector and discuss their broad-based amalgamation. Presently, there are as many as six associations dealing with woven and knitted garments.
These include Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), Pakistan Sweaters Exporters Association, Pakistan Cotton Fashion and Apparel Association (PCFAA) and Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (Prgmea). A merger move has also been initiated in the towel sector where two main associations - Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) and Pakistan Commercial Towel Exporters Association (PACETA) - are functioning.
To make the merger move successful, the textile leaders have vowed to sacrifice their personal ego to get the highest slot in the merged structure.
They agreed that the highest post and other positions in a merged body would be rotated yearly among the contenders of the merged entities.
The textile value-added sector leaders joined their heads to discuss the merger idea because they felt that they could not meet the quality and social and labour compliance requirements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) free trade era unless they are united and better organised. They felt that from a united platform, they could talk to the government in a more forceful manner. The merger idea preceded the move for setting up a textile city at Port Qasim and a garment city in Korangi, fully equipped with all modern infrastructure, including water treatment plants to fulfil the social and labour compliance requirement set out by the foreign buyers.
It was noted that the work on these two major textile clusters was very slow and their venue has not yet been finalised due to difference of opinion among the textile exporters on which site would be suitable for them.
The meeting emphasised that the setting up of well-equipped textile and garment cities were the requirements of the buyers who would have the facility to visit all factories at one place, with a view to saving their time and eliminating law and order concerns.
Another advantage of the textile clusters, the exporters noted, would be sharing of work between units in the city through transfer of over-capacity production to smaller units, bringing prosperity to every body. This was the only way for the survival of smaller units situated in a cluster in the era of mass production which would not only guarantee lower cost, but higher profits as well. The meeting decided to go fast on the merger issue and the garment city project before it was too late. They felt that 2005 was very crucial for the textile export business and if any markets were lost now, these would never be re-captured.