Chairman Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), Ijaz Khokhar Thursday said the woven garment industry has the potential to grow fast, subject to government-friendly policies ahead.
He was commenting on the readymade garment sector's performance during the outgoing fiscal 201-11, registering a stellar growth of 35 percent comparing with the corresponding period.
He said the issues like market access, capacity expansion and skill development are confronting the woven garment industry, hampering its potential to grow like the competitors in Bangladesh, India and China. Only a positive and pro-industry approach of government policymakers may take the woven garment industry to full throttle growth in the emerging international market situation conducive to growth, he added.
Chairman PGRMEA deplored that an indifferent attitude of the government is disappointing the garment manufacturers and exporters at large, and they are thinking seriously of shifting their businesses to Bangladesh considered to be a heaven for woven garment industry. According to him, Bangladesh is providing 11 percent drawback on export of readymade garments to its exporters. Not only Bangladesh, he added, other competing countries including China and India were offering heavy drawbacks to their woven garment industry.
He said China is offering its exporters export rebate at 17 percent on various garment items. In 2010, China's export tax rebates totalled 732.7 billion Yuan ($113.3 billion), registering an increase of 13 percent from the previous year and equivalent to the total expenditures education, social welfare and subsidised housing sectors.
In Pakistan, he added, the government has withdrawn Drawback of Local Taxes and Levis (DLTL) scheme from July 2011 onwards. It has resulted into widespread disappointment in the woven garment industry, earning over $1.5 billion exports besides providing jobs to some 30 percent of total textile value-chain industry, he added.
Chairman PRGMEA urged the government to facilitate the woven garment industry by shifting its approach towards the schemes like DLTL and announce a continuity of it in the fiscal year 2011-12 as well. Also, he said, the government should clear over Rs22 billion stuck up claims of exporters under the DLTL scheme, causing liquidity crisis for SME sector to grow.