Not fully equipped to cope with the regional competition the country may face 14 percent decline in its textile exports during the current fiscal year as compared with fiscal 2006-07; official sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday.
The export of textile products decreased to $2.449 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year against $2.73 billion over the same period last year, thus showing a decline of 10.29 percent. The export of knitwear, bed-wear and towels decreased by 10.08 percent, 19.06 percent and 4.82 percent, respectively, during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with the corresponding period last year.
The textile exports have shown a decline of 5 percent up till now in the ongoing fiscal year. The first six months (July 2007-December 2007), the total textile exports have been recorded worth $5.228 billion as compared with the corresponding period last year when textile exports were $5.489 billion.
This clearly shows that the textile exports are going down rapidly and calls for immediate intervention to avert this trend as our balance of trade largely depends upon exports earnings of the textile sector.
Sources said, at present, the situation is unfavourable to the extent that the export orders worth $57.6 million for readymade garments and knitwear have been diverted to the regional competitors whereas the power shortage in the country is forcing industrialists shift their businesses from Pakistan almost to other countries.
The gravity of the situation could be judged from the fact that almost 75 percent industrial units, including 300 spinning mills and weaving mills were closed. In December 2006, the textile exports were $987.402 million while in December 2007; these were $740.702, showing a decline of 25 percent. "This clearly shows that just in the month of December, the textile exports have shown a downward trend of 25 percent.
An official in the textile ministry told this scribe that the government''s plan to establish a ''textile city'' 35-km away from Karachi will be completed till 2009. But the government does not have resources sufficient to establish a ''one-window operation system'' in the textile sector. "We have power shortage and unskilled labour. So, it is impossible to have one-window system like Bangladesh that is surplus in electricity generation."