Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) Chairman Asghar Ali and Vice Chairman Arif Mahmood Qureshi on Friday expressed serious concerns over the SNGPL move of gas suspension for industries. PTEA leaders said textile industry has already facing huge problems owing to the high input cost and other issues and gas suspension would cause huge loss.
Pointing out the declining trend in exports, they said that country's exports are consecutively showing declining trend since July 2014. Exports are down by 16.90 percent in July, 3.52 percent in August, 20.37 percent in September, 11.38 percent in October and 15.12 percent in November against the same months of outgoing fiscal. At the moment when the industrial production and exports are registering negative growth, further gas curtailment would leave industrialists with no other option but to shut down their units, they added.
PTEA Chairman Asghar Ali was of the view that government should stop unilateral policies and decisions and must take stakeholders into the confidence as country is going through a very serious economic crisis in terms of escalating cost of production. He termed energy shortage as the prime cause of economic instability and decline in industrial growth as half of the production capacity of textile industry in Punjab is already dysfunctional due to energy shortage.
Vice Chairman Arif Mahmood Qureshi further said that at a time when all competing countries are supporting their export industries, the economic situation in Pakistan is getting worse and it is a known fact that foreign buyers are diverting their orders to the other regional countries. PTEA leaders urged the government to take serious cognisance of the matter and take progressive steps to endure the industry and demanded immediate restoration of gas supply to export oriented textile industry for better progress.