All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has made five key recommendations to the government for revival of textile industry-the major export earner of the country. Talking to Business Recorder, APTMA chairman Ahsan Bashir said that currently textile industry has come to a standstill due to energy crisis, which not only resulted in missing the export target but also deprived millions of their livelihood.
He further said that textile industry is hopeful that the economic managers of the new government would help in making the industry fully operational. He proposed that government should resolve energy crisis at the earliest, so that industry could function properly. The government should cut down the interest rate from current 9.5 percent to 7 percent as is applicable in other regional countries. The government should create a level-playing field for all industries to boost exports and industry should be given duty free market access to enable it to compete with other regional countries.
APTMA chairman said that last year at this stage, textile industry was getting 5 days a week gas. However, due to poor management of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources the industry is getting only three days a week gas today. Gas suspension not only resulted in closure of the industry but also dented the estimated export target of $14 billion, which is likely to be missed by over one billion dollars.
Due to tariff concession, easy market access, better law and order situation in other regional countries, some textile industries of Pakistan moved there in past couple of years. Availability of utilities, low utility price and subsidies that have been provided by competitor governments are putting our textile exports at a disadvantage, he added. However, he said that after getting the European Union (EU)'s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) by 2014, the country would get duty free entry to the international market which would boost textile exports.