Export orders for next year at the forthcoming Heimtextil Fair in Germany would be adversely affected if immediate remedial measures to stem the declining trend in exports and improvement of textile sector are not set in motion within the next 10 to 15 days.
These apprehensions were expressed by Arif Tauseef, a prominent industrialist and former chairman of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), while talking to newsmen here on Tuesday.
Expressing deep concern over 31 percent steep decline in textile exports in July-September quarter of current fiscal year, he said that he had been drawing attention of the government towards continuous downward slide in exports since last December. But the government did not take it seriously, and the result is that the exports are persistently declining over the last 15 months.
He said that, in fact, the decline was more than the figures officially stated, if the huge investment of Rs 180 billion made in 2005 was taken into consideration, and its expected return in the shape of 40 percent was taken into consideration. The total negative effect would be 71 percent. He warned that if the government did not announce immediate positive measures for improvement of the textile sector the exporters would not be able to book export orders at the Heimtextil Exhibition to be held in January next year, and the buyers would divert to China, India, and Bangladesh endangering collapse of Pakistan's textile industry and exports.