FAISALABAD: Forty percent textile units have been closed and this nosedive process will continue if immediate remedial steps were not taken to increase domestic production of cotton in addition to trimming electricity tariff and ensuring early payment of refund claims particularly to the SME sector, said Imran Mehmood central chairman All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA).

He said that the survival of the textile sector hinges on the availability of cotton in abundance which has been experiencing a phenomenal decrease during the last ten years. He said that cotton production has reduced to almost half due to the lack of incentives to the cotton growers.

“Some factory owners have already shifted their units to Bangladesh due to the unfavorable circumstances”, he said and added that electricity and gas is also being provided at the highest rate as compared to our regional competitors. Similarly high markup rate, deteriorating law and order situation and inconsistent economic policies have hit the SME sector hard.

He demanded that exporters must get electricity and other inputs at competitive rates in order to make exportable surplus competitive in international markets. He said that industry was getting electricity at 15 cent per unit while its rate in Bangladesh, India and China was only 9 cent. “With this huge difference SME sector could neither compete with its competitors not it is profitable to run the industry with unbearable input cost. He said that last year 125 factories were closed while more would follow the suite if immediate relief was not provided. He further said that electricity was provided at 9 cent in 2020 and as its result industrial units worked with full capacity.

He said that government must provide favorable climate to the industrial sector so that it could not only enhance its production for exports but also create maximum job opportunities for the unemployed youth.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024