Vice Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone Mian Naeem Ahmad has said that the excessive yarn export was negatively impacting the value added textile Sector, and yarn shortage in domestic market was leading to closures of knitwear, bed-wear, towel, garment, weaving and stitching units, major source of livelihood to 1.5 million families of the country.

The Chairman Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PGMEA), Malik Naseer, has termed the decision of increase in prices of petroleum and diesel prices anti-people and anti-industry and has exposed the government capability. He said that business community of this export-oriented city have unanimously rejected this decision and underscored the need of immediate withdrawal of the increase for the larger national interest and protecting the industrial sector from collapses.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has rejected the idea of imposing any restriction on export of cotton yarn as it would be counter productive and against the interest of the spinning industry.

Use of unapproved Bt cotton seeds, power breakdowns and adulterated pesticides have led to a massive decline in per hectare yield of the cotton crop in southern Punjab, said Chairman of All Pakistan Agri Forum, Ibrahim Mughal.

He said in southern Punjab, the growers are in the worst position where cotton yield has been recorded at around eight maunds (2,960 kgs) per acre as against 30 maunds (11,100 kgs) per acre last year.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced that it would pay the outstanding 60% dues of research and development (R&D) claims of textile exporters, which have been pending for last 17 months. The Ministry of Finance has already released Rs.5 billion to the central bank for payment of remaining R&D support programme for textile sector.

Former Central Chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA) Dr Khurram Tariq has expressed concern over the fast impeding crisis in value-added textile sector and said that the national economy may face an additional deficit up to four billion dollars if unrestricted cotton and yarn export continued.

The Karachi Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) Business Council criticised the vested interests for creating recent controversy of whether to allow 3% duty drawback facility on the exports of garments and home textile from the zone despite clear notification of the Ministry of Textile Industries.

The Cabinet Committee on textile has decided that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan shall monitor all exports of yarn through a system of registration of export contracts.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association’s former chairman Akber Sheikh said the private sector even while operating at full efficiency could not compete in the global market unless the cost of dealing with bureaucracy was drastically reduced. He said the bureaucratic red tape had increased in recent years with increased corruption.

Federal Secretary for Textile Industry Waqar Masood Khan said that the government has for the first time made the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) part of the textile policy and allowed its reimbursement to encourage women employment in textile industry.

Pakistani government should use diplomacy to penetrate world markets, opined Mr. Gohar Ejaz, Chairman of All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). Though the textile industry of Pakistan enjoys apex position across the world, it does not have free access to the international markets. Failure of negotiations on free-trade agreement with the US is unfortunate for the country.

Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) have welcomed the Ministry of Commerce initiative of monitoring the exports of cotton yarn with a plea of ensuring the presence of value-added sector to the monitoring committee.

Chairman Pakistan Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA), Feroze Azam said the government should impose a ban on coarse yarn export in order to save the value added towel sector. He said due to export of coarse yarn, our competitiveness and cost of doing business has been enhanced. Around 70% of local yarn is used by the value addition sectors in the country and only 25% to 30% coarse yarn is exported to China, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand.

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) said that value added textile associations have sought out a ban on export of cotton and cotton yarn to save the value-added sector from collapse. Spinning sector has been advised to import good quality cotton and do value addition by converting this to fine counts above 32 single for export to stop the trade deficit.

Punjab Minister for Agriculture Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh has said that cotton is a cash crop; therefore, only disease-resistant varieties of cotton should be cultivated for attaining maximum production and earning foreign exchange. The Minister suggested that local varieties of cotton must immediately be developed which have successfully cleared the initial trials of Punjab Seed Council for final approval so that farmers could get rid of substandard and uncertified Bt cotton seeds.