Whereas there is no gain saying the fact that Pakistan's economy is, by and large, single-crop-based, the textile industry of Pakistan, especially the textile processing and garments sector, should have been in all fairness, afforded some sort of protection through the forthcoming budgetary exercise.
But, as ill luck would have it, instead of getting any relief, the budget has loaded it with extra burden of one percent cess on raw-material besides the proposed enhancement in labour charges, which would, God forbid, prove to be the last straw on the camel's back, especially during the ongoing scenario of globalisation and the tough competition faced by us from the neighbouring exporter countries.
This apprehension was expressed by Muhammad Saeed Sheikh, Chairman All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), G R Arshad, Life Chairman Action committee APTPMA, and Executive Committee members of APTPMA, in a joint press statement, here on Wednesday.
The signatories of the PR contended that whereas textile exporters of Pakistan had been facing an unprecedentedly tough competition from neighbouring countries like India, China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh etc, by way of lucrative incentives like tax relief and relief in inputs, provided to them by their governments, no such relief is being provided to the Pakistani textile exporters through budgetary enactment.
On the contrary, they are being loaded with extra burden of 1 percent cess on raw-materials and enhancement of labour charges while sales tax has been imposed on several items of textile processing raw-materials and chemicals which would adversely affect the zero-rated products.
In view of the above cited grave apprehension, the signatories of the PR have appealed to the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Federal Minister of Textile Industry, Chaudhary Mushtaq Ali Cheema, Federal Minister of Commerce, Humayon Akhtar Khan, and Dr Salman Shah, Special Adviser to PM on Economic Affairs to review the Budget 2007-08 and try to provide requisite relief to textile processors and exporters enabling them to cope with the vast challenges of WTO in the current scenario of globalisation.