The business community engaged in hosiery industry has urged the government to impose ban on export of yarn for protecting the industry from total collapses due to non-availability of yarn. If the situation remained the same then there would be a tornado of unemployment and it would be too difficult for the government to accommodate 35,000 workers engaged in the industry, directly and indirectly, under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
A series of meetings were held with the government but outcome of these meeting was a lollypop for the industry. It seems that yarn issue was the chain of sugar and atta crisis and it was created deliberately for strengthening the hands of yarn mafia and to spoil the industrial sector of the country. The question is: why the government is reluctant to take immediate remedial measures for the industry?
Yarn is basic raw material for value-added textiles like towels, bed sheets, process fabrics, readymade garments, knitwear products, sports wear, etc. These items are not only the major sources of foreign exchange earnings but also these sectors provide employment to major part of industrial workforce. For the past 4 months, cotton yarn is not available to the value-added textile sectors in Pakistan. It is feared that hundreds of thousands of workers might go unemployed due to closure of manufacturing units in the country.
It is important to mention that export of one kg yarn can earn only one dollar from the international market, whereas the garments and other finished products made from that one kg yarn earn more that 8 dollars. Hence, priority of the government should aim at ensuring supply of cotton yarn to local industry so that export of value-added products and employment of workers should not suffer.
At present, yarn is not available to exporters in Pakistan while it is being supplied to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China, etc, who are Pakistan's competitors in international markets' resultantly, competitors are being strengthened in this way.
They demanded that the government should immediately impose a cap on export of yarn so that local industry may continue to honour its international commitments of foreign buyers and if timely action is not taken in this direction then the business community will fail to deliver goods to foreign buyers.
The policies of government should be to safeguard national interests and regulate the outflow of goods keeping in view the needs of the industry. Value-added sector has made huge investments of over 7 billion dollars over the last few years but this investment will go scrap if it does not have the new materials for its needs. Textile policy announced by government has fixed export target of 25 billion dollars from textile sector alone but if the prevailing situation continues, it is far from achievement.
Some anti-state elements and hidden hands are making hectic efforts for sabotaging the industrial sector of the country. About 350 highly influential persons are trying to hijack the economy through various tactics and it seems that the government has bowed its knees in front of this mafia.
Due to nonavailability of yarn the business community is facing serious problems as a result of which foreign buyers are unwilling in giving new orders. Under the prevailing situation that the government should regulate the unchecked outflow of yarn which is a dire need of the local value added textile industry.