The Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Wednesday expressed solidarity with All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and urged the government to give relief package to the textile industry that has almost collapsed. MCCI President, Mian Fareed Mughis A Sheikh said that the high cost of doing business has not only ousted Pakistani textiles from the international marketplace but is also jacking up the graph of unemployment. He hoped that the prime minister would take notice of the situation and announce relief package for the textile industry immediately.
"MCCI believes that the government would listen to the grievances of the textile industry and come up with package of incentives sooner than later," he added. He said that various countries took immediate measures whenever they felt that their certain economic sectors were not giving desired results. Therefore the government should not waste further time in pondering over the issues and give relief package to the textile industry. The MCCI president said that being largest export-oriented sector of the country and second largest job provider to the skilled and unskilled manpower, its closure would result in disastrous results for the national economy.
He said that the policymakers should realise the fact that industrialists and hundred and thousands of workers would not only be the loser but the government would also lose huge revenue being collected from textile industry. Fareed said that at least 400 textile mills across the country have decided to closedown their production to record protest against the soaring cost of doing business, which would not only occur loss of billions to the national exchequer but would also give a bad message to the foreign investor and they would shelve their plans of investment in Pakistan.
"How the textile industry can survive in the presence of high power tariff, gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC) and unavailability of energy?" the MCCI president questioned. He said that at present when the regional countries are experiencing rapid economic growth, fall in Pakistan's textile exports should be an eye opener for the policymakers. Arshad said that the industrial sector needs cheap energy to keep its wheel moving but the situation is quite discouraging in this regard. He said the cost of gas for industry rose to $6.7/mmbtu) and $7.7/mmbtu for captive power plants as compared to $4.2 for India, $3.1 for Bangladesh and $4.2 for Vietnam. Electricity tariff for the industry is 15 cents/unit as compared to 8 to 9 cents/unit in the neighbouring and competing countries, he added.