Textile exports improved by 10 percent in April this year against March exports with just one directive of President Asif Ali Zardari for uninterrupted energy supply to the industry, Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Mohsin Aziz.
According to him, the Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain and Minister for Water and Power Naveed Qamar had moved to ensure continuous energy supply to the industry on the president's orders. Textile exports, he said, registered an increase of more than $100 million in April against March on month-on-month basis, surging to $1.14 billion in April against approximately $1 billion in March 2012.
According to him, resumption of gas supply five days a week had considerably improved the textile industry exports, adding that this should provide some food for thought for the country's economic managers. He said the textile industry could easily meet the previous year's target if five days a week and sincere efforts were made to increase it to six days a week.
However, he said, exports in quantitative terms were still on decline as of July-April this year against the corresponding period last year. According to him, the decline in fabric exports was 15 percent, knitwear had dipped by 26 percent, bedwear by 20 percent and readymade garments by 27 percent. urther, he said, there was a 10 percent shortfall in value terms during the same period.
He said export shortfall had crossed $1.1 billion in July 2011-April 2012 period against the corresponding period in last fiscal year. Reiterating the textile sector's demand for uniteruppted supply of electricity and gas, he said that all of these sub-sectors of textile value chain were consumers of yarn, which meant that the decline in exports was directly impacting the spinning industry, he said.
HE said that continuous supply of energy was needed to sustain export-oriented, labour and capital-intensive textile industry so that it could earn $1.2 billion a month ahead. It is though not possible to achieve previous year record exports of $14 billion but still it could be closer to the last year's quantum of exports if energy supply continues, he added.