German Commercial Consular Gudrun Haider assured the
hosiery manufacturers-cum-exporters that the issue of duty
free access to the EU market would be solved in the near
future, but, she termed the signing of Free Trade Agreement
with Pakistan a different issue, saying that it was a
complicated matter, which always required Germany to assess
the overall economic scale of the country it entered the
agreement with.
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)
welcomed the statement by the Adviser to Prime Minister on
Finance Shaukat Tareen pertaining relief to the textile sector
in loan repayment. It will improve cash flow position and
stabilise the growth of business, said Chairman Standing
Committee on Foreign Investment FPCCI, Sheikh Humayun Sayeed.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)'s Senior
Vice President Muhammad Anees Khawaja has reiterated his
demand to save the textile sector from total collapse. Talking
to newsmen here on Tuesday he said that now textile production
came to a grinding halt due to non availability of electricity
and natural gas, high tariff, most expensive borrowing cost
and rigid banking practices.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Textile
Industry recommended the government to facilitate the cotton
growers by giving them incentives for sowing maximum cotton
for the consumption of textile industry. Such facilities would
help the country to curtail its imports, and it would also
help the government in its drive to save precious foreign
exchange.
The apparel sector has sought freezing of departmental
taxes for two years in case of government is not ready to
extend Research & Development (R&D) Fund in current fiscal
year, said a delegation of Pakistan Apparel Forum called on
Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin, the
Federal Minister of Textile.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has appealed the
government to formulate a long-term economic policy in
consultation with all stakeholders to ensure sustained
economic growth. Giving a briefing to the Lahore Economic
Journalists Association on the textile sector APTMA Chairman,
Tariq Mehmood deplored that there is a general distrust
between the government and the industrialists due to lack of
creditability on both sides.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has agreed to give one-year
moratorium on payment of principal amount to the textile
industry, which is finding it hard to retire their obligations
in an environment of unabated gas and power outages and
cutthroat competition from China and Bangladesh, said Advisor
to Prime Minister on Textile, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig.
Federal Minister on Textile Industry Rana M Farooq Saeed
Khan said that the government was preparing very lucrative
working paper to consider some incentive and relief for the
textile industry particularly export oriented value added
units.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)'s Senior
Vice President Muhammad Anees Khawaja said that our
bureaucracy and ill-conceived policy makers had pushed the
textile sector to an alley. He appealed to President Asif Ali
Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani to take
this issue very seriously and resolve their problems on
top-priority basis. Anees was of the view that in other
countries the exporters were given preferential treatment and
provided raw material, inputs and utilities at concession
rates enabling them to compete successfully in international
markets.
Polyester Staple Fibre Manufacturing Group (PSFMG) has
termed criticism on anti-dumping laws in Pakistan unjustified,
says that these laws do not damage the local textile industry,
rather enable fair trade. A press release states that
anti-dumping duty has global recognition in ensuring fair
trade and is not a tool for protectionism.
Rehan Bharara, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters
Association (PTEA) said Europe is a huge market for Pakistani
textile products. Denial of market access by Europe is another
big hurdle in the way of progress and promotion of textiles.
He requested the government to approach the European countries
for a duty free market access to the European countries.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)'s Senior
Vice President Muhammad Anees Khawaja has reiterated his
demand to save the textile sector from total collapse. He said
that now textile production came to a grinding halt due to non
availability of electricity and natural gas, high tariff, most
expensive borrowing cost and rigid banking practices.
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has
given a wake-up call to the economic managers of the
government and urged them to take the textile sector closure
threats seriously by initiating serious measures to save it
from a total collapse. The call was given by LCCI Senior Vice
President Tahir Javaid Malik while presiding over a meeting of
the owners of textile units at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and
Industry.
Acting President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (KCCI), Muhammad Jawed Bilwani has sought
intervention of President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari to
direct concerned authorities to save apparel and home textile
sector from collapse, which is the most vital export-oriented
and largest revenue and employment-generating value added
sector.
The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet
has cancelled the tenders floated by Trading Corporation of
Pakistan (TCP) for procurement of 100,000 bales cotton. TCP
had invited sealed offers for purchase of 100,000 bales of
Pakistani raw cotton of 2008-09 crops in export worthy, six
sides covered packing.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has strongly
demanded capping of bank credit mark-up rate at 7%, suspension
of mark-up for one year and staggering it over next three
years to enable the exporters and industry to face the current
world economic recession and attain competitiveness in
international market.
