The increase in gas prices will shed negative effect on country's exports and Pakistan will lose global markets due to high cost of production. These apprehensions were expressed by All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA)'s founder chairman Syed Muhammad Qasim Shah while talking to newsmen here on Saturday.
He said Pakistan's textile exports were already facing crisis due to external and internal pressures. This is evident from the export statistics that textile exports had declined by 16.3 percent to Europe in first 8 months of current year while 38 percent sharp decline in first four months of current fiscal (July-year October) has been recorded in quantity of fabric exports, he said.
Syed Muhammad Qasim said that Pakistani textile exports were confronted with 13.1 percent anti-dumping duty, 12 percent custom duty and hikes in inputs like electricity, petroleum, gas and sea freight charges.
The APBUMA chairman contended that rival exporting countries of the region India, China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were offering huge concessions to their exporters by way of cheaper electricity, labour, tax concession and currency conversion advantage while Pakistan's exports were burdened with multiple taxes. To cap it all billions of rupees of exporters were stuck up in sales tax refund regime, he said. It was therefore, natural that the exports were showing decline, he concluded.