Textile and textile products are the mainstay of country's exports. However, there is a need for the textile sector to improve efficiency and the quality of the products to improve its standing among competitors and to take advantage of improved price competitiveness. A major constraint in the way of quality improvement is the use of contaminated cotton produced domestically. This affects the length of the staple fibre and thus the quality of the entire textile chain. Besides, the domestic textile sector also lags behind its competitors in the field of designing.
Our competitors produce innovative designs that attract higher demand in the Western markets. Especially Indian textile manufacturers differentiate their apparel and home textiles with rich designs and colours. State Bank of Pakistan had often underscored the need for initiating certain steps aimed at development of textile sector.
The domestic textile industry should invest in improving designing of the products. Products with innovative designs are likely to create their own demand in the Western markets. Besides, for the government there is a need to address serious infrastructure issues especially the issue of power breakdowns. Apart from that the domestic political environment at the moment is not conducive to export growth because the uncertainty resulted by law and order problem in the country is likely to lead buyers to switch to other suppliers. This is also likely to divert demand to other suppliers, in general, due to the distortion of country's image internationally.